A Streetcar Named Desire

At the Broadhurst Theatre located at 235 West 44th. It opened on April 22, 2012 and it will play until August 19, 2012. It runs for two hours and forty minutes with one intermission.

"A Street Named Desire" was written in 1947 by American Playwright Tennessee Williams. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for Drama. It premiered on December 3, 1947 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and closed on December 17, 1949. Elia Kazan directed it. Marlo Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden starred in it. Tandy was nominated for a Tony award for Best Actress in a Play.

The London production was directed by Lawrence Olivier on October 12, 1949 and starred Bonar Colleano, Vivien Leigh and Renee Asherson.

It has had several revivals. The first was on Broadway in 1973 and starred Rosemary Harris, James Farentino and Patricia Conolly.

It was adapted into a movie in 1951. Elia Kazan directed it. It starred the original cast except for Jessia Tandy. Vivien Leigh replaced her. It won several awards including four Academy Awards for Viven Leigh, Karl Malden and Kim Hunter. It also won for Best Art Direction.

In 1948 it won the New York Drama Critics Circle for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama . It won the Theatre World Award for Best Actress in a play for Jessica Lange in 1992. Rachael Weisz won a 2010 Olivier Award for Best Actress.

The play has been nominated for several Tony and Olivier Awards over the years.

Daphne Rubin-Vega was nominated for two Tony Awards for "Rent" (1996) and "Anna in the Tropics" (2003). She won the Theatre World Award for "Rent" (1996).

The play takes place in the French Quarter, New Orleans, 1952.

Stella Blanche (Nicole Ari Parker) comes to visit her sister Stella (Daphne Rubin-Vega). Stella lives with her husband Stanley (Blair Underwood) in a run down one room apartment. Blanche has a slight drinking problem which she won't admit to.

Stanley is not to happy with Blanche living there. It does not stop him from having his friend Mitch (Wood Harris), Steve (Matthew Saldivar), and Pablo (Jacinto Taras Riddick) over for drinks and to play poker.

Blanche has her issues, Stella is pregnant and Stanley is one mean man. He is both verbally and physically abusive to Stella. But she still stays with him.

Stanley digs into Banche's past and tells her sister and his friend Mitch. Blanch is trying to play miss innocent with hopes Mitch will marry her. She also tried to seduce a young collector (Aaron Clifton Moten).

Things get heated and I won't tell you how.

There are other characters that add to the story but there presence is minimal but good. One is Eunice (Amelia Campbell) the land lady .

This production has a prize winning cast. They work well together. Blair, Daphne, Nicole and Wood. Each working off each other.

The only thing I know about Streetcar is Marlo Brando T shirt scene and yelling "Stella". Blair takes it one step beyond. He had the T shirt on and then takes it off. I heard a few ladies gasp and I wondered when they would start breathing again. Yes he does work out. He played his character well. You leave hating him, he's such to put it nicely a s.o.b and more.

Nicole first few minutes in the first scene were a little under played. But it picked up and she was great.

Daphne and Wood make you feel sorry for them.

Don't walk run and get a ticket to see this fantastic revival.

This is the first time the Broadway production has had an African American and Hispanic cast.

The show is in limited engagement. Jacino said they will be able to extend it two weeks but there is another show book at this theatre.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor