Great Play, Not Great Casting

No question. Tennessee Williams is one of America’s finest playwrights, and his classic, “A Streetcar Named Desire,â€� is one of the country’s greatest plays. With its layers of meaning, “Streetcarâ€� is an ambitious undertaking that needs a cast of great strength to bring it to life.  The production at Barrington Stage Company is earnest, but it misses the mark.

   Streetcar’s plot with its two iconic characters, Stanley Kowalski and Blanche DuBois, is well-known. Blanche arrives at her sister Stella and Stanley’s apartment in New Orleans after traveling on a streetcar named Desire.  As the story evolves, she is elusive about her recent past and interferes in her sister’s marriage prompting Stanley to inquire into Blanche’s background. He discovers that she has led a tawdry life in her old home town, has been dismissed from her position as a teacher and ordered to leave. The conflict between Stanley and Blanche culminates in an ugly rape scene while Stella is giving birth in the hospital.  

   Barrington’s production has many strong qualities, but its core is weakened by a miscast Christopher Innvar as Stanley. It may not be fair to compare others to Marlon Brando’s Stanley, but there are elements in the script that must be respected. Innvar is too old for Stanley, who is in his early 30s, at the most. Innvar’s Stanley makes Kim Stauffer’s Stella seem like a child bride. But more than this, one of the key elements of Stanley Kowalski is his smoldering sexuality that attracts and repels Blanche. She describes him as “bestial,â€� “ape-like,â€� but Innvar is more of a lower class lout who throws tantrums.  Blanche’s fear of him should stem from his sexuality, not just his violent temperament. Without the energy of a brutish and primitive Stanley, the conflict is washed out.

   Marin Mazzie lacks Blanche’s fragility in the early stages of the production. She also appears to be working too hard, but as the play progresses and Blanche slowly starts to crumble, she becomes more vulnerable and sympathetic. Mazzie is a sturdily-built woman who would seem to be strong enough to combat the devils that plague her.  Granted, one’s physical being does not suggest one’s psyche, but on a stage how a character looks creates ideas about them.

   Stauffer’s Stella and Kevin Carolan’s Mitch, Blanche’s suitor, offer more complete characterizations, instilling pain and consternation into their complex characters.        Though Julianne Boyd’s direction is hampered by her leads, she finds the humor in the first several scenes of the play.  However, a major flaw occurs in the climactic rape scene.  His taunting in the early part of the scene misses the sexuality and the underlying brutality that would give the moment its crucial viciousness and shock the audience.

   Barrington should be commended for presenting great plays, but more care should be given to the details of the work.  Nonetheless, there are qualities in this production that warrant a visit.

   “A Streetcar Named Desireâ€� runs at Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, MA, through Aug. 29. For tickets, call 413-236-8888.