Review - A Streetcar Named Desire

A friend who had to go out of town gave me his TDF ticket to the revival of A Streetcar Named Desire last night.  I was happy to go see it - it's one of my favorite plays, plus several of my Tony voter friends told me how much they unexpectedly enjoyed it (it didn't get a lot of love from the critics).  On the whole, I enjoyed the production, too, though my seat neighbors made the evening a trying one.  I'll need to get that annoyance off my chest before attempting a review of the production.  Sorry...

My TDF seat was fine, about ten rows back, on the side.  My first inkling that there might be trouble was the gal sitting on my right, who had her leg crossed into my personal space, along with leaning into my arm rest.  And she ran her fingers through her hair for about a half hour, leaning in my personal space.  And she repeatedly complained that there was no "plot" in the program.  Sigh.  Ordinarily, I would just lean the other way, but unfortunately, the gal on my left ALSO crossed her leg into my personal space, with the added bonus of periodically kicking her leg up as if she were being checked for reflexes.  I should've moved.  It's my own fault.  But I thought, this can't last all night...

Oh, but it did.  AND the gals behind me.  Jeepers.  One of them sounded like Jennifer Tilly.  I took a quick peek to make sure it wasn't Jennifer Tilly.  It wasn't.  But she and her gal pal talked through most of the first act.  I tried to tune them out, and was mainly successful since I love the language of the play and the actors were strongly miked, but it got harder and harder.  Apparently, someone else got tired of them chatting, so they uttered a loud "SHHHHHHHHHHH," to which the Jennifer Tilly soundalike replied, in her outdoor voice, "F*ck off."  Nice.  I was hoping an usher or a house manager would come down, but it didn't happen.

Oddly, they both got up at the same time, along with several other people, at the end of a scene in the first act.  I thought maybe they had seen this production before and were getting a jump on intermission.  No, they were just getting up.  It was so odd - there had to be at least six people who got up.  I was hoping the gals behind me wouldn't come back, but they did.  Before intermission even started.  With a big bag of Twizzlers.

During intermission, they said not one word to each other, they just ate the Twizzlers.  I guess they needed to save up their conversation, because once Act Two started, they were ready to talk to each other again.  Which they did, through to the end of the show, while they continued to rustle the Twizzlers bag throughout.

There was also a lady a couple of rows back who very helpfully talked out loud to tell us, in her outdoor voice, which characters were coming in ("ooo, that's Blanche."  "ooo, that's the doctor."), or to say "uh oh" when something was going to go down.  Though I didn't hate on her as much as the gals behind me, because at least she was involved in the play.  I just wish she had been involved in her own mind instead of out through her mouth.  And then there was the gent a few rows in front of me who was in LOVE with Nicole Ari Parker.  He applauded after maybe every third line she spoke.  That got old after awhile.  And when the show was over, he ran up to the stage so he could high five her.  That's a fan for you.

OH, and the other thing about this audience that sort of bothered me is that they laughed throughout the show as if they were watching Noises Off or something.  I've never thought of Streetcar as a rollicking comedy, but everyone was laughing their heads off.  And I don't think it's been directed in a 'faster/funnier' kind of way.  I don't know.  It just was really weird to me.

So, having said all that blah blah blah, and after having given people who don't deserve so many words, uh, so many words, I'm ready to talk about the production.  :)    I've always enjoyed Blair Underwood on tv, but was fairly skeptical of his playing Stanley (they've excised the 'Kowalski' for this production).  As a performer, I find he has an innate elegance and dignity that would seem to play against Stanley.  While I found his interpretation to be clear, focused and perfectly well-acted, I ultimately didn't buy him.  His performance just seemed too disjointed for me, without feeling the simmering rage underneath before the explosions, or seeing the combustible sexual being Stella fell in lust with.  I didn't think he had any particular chemistry with either actress.  But he is spectacularly handsome and when he took off his shirt, I internally gasped. Yes, sometimes there's God so quickly.  :)  Of course, the rest of the crowd hooted and hollered like they were at a Chippendales revue, but oh well.  I would definitely like to see him on stage again - he has a good voice, a good presence and can take command, but unfortunately his Stanley wasn't completely successful for me.

I didn't really know Nicole Ari Parker's work before, but I really enjoyed her take on Blanche.  She was flirty, feminine, smart, funny, naive, vulnerable, broken.  She seemed very aware of her effect on people and perhaps started off with more internal strength than most women who play Blanche, but it made the last scene really affecting with so great an arc.  I liked her a lot.  I wasn't thrilled with Daphne Rubin-Vega as Stella, but I never am.  That's just my problem, I guess.  She always seems to be acting in a different play than everyone else.  IMO, of course.  Oh, and her last costume was awful - I actually felt so badly for her.  The way she had to mince around in those shoes was almost comical, which is bad when she's watching her sister head off for her 'rest.'

I also didn't know Wood Harris' work, but I thought he was really good as Mitch.  He played him a little differently - younger maybe, more gangly and a different kind of awkward, but he was quite affecting.  I thought he had wonderful chemistry with Parker's Blanche, and I really felt his pain during the last scene.  On the whole, I thought Emily Mann's direction was good, though I thought the use of Terence Blanchard's jazz score was a tad excessive and I didn't really need the tableau vivant of the New Orleans funeral.  But I thought this multi-racial casting did illuminate some of the text in different ways and was mainly successful.

Sorry there's so much blather, but I'm definitely glad I saw this production, even though my seat neighbors worked my last nerve.  The show cancelled their extension, so they'll be closing in mid-July.  Discounts are probably available - I think it's worth a look.