Stellar!
New Rep’s ‘Streetcar’ worth the ride
REVIEW. The New Repertory Theatre Company’s production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” is definitely a ride worth taking. The three-plus hour foray into the depressing world of Tennessee Williams is emotionally and physically draining, but director Rick Lombardo pulls off a masterful telling of the classic tale of Southern belle Blanche DuBois and her steamy, life-changing summer in the home of her sister, Stella, and angry, jealous brother-in-law, Stanley.
Everyone knows the film, and everyone’s heard someone yell “Stella” in his or her best Marlon Brando voice. As Stanley, Todd Alan Johnson tries just a bit too hard not to be Brando, and the result is an oddly South Jersey-sounding Stanley whose apish, aggressive walk belies the soft qualities Johnson brings to the role. Brute is better, at least in the Kowalski household.
Rachel Harker is a perfect Southern lady as her Blanche overtakes the dumpy flat, but her descent into insanity could use a bit more reserved Southern charm and much less hysteria.
You can go mad without going over the top.
As Stella, Marianna Bassham delivers a flawless performance. Though grounded, accepting of her fate and wonderfully uncomfortably pregnant, she subtly takes you on an emotional rollercoaster ride that even the actress herself has a hard time shaking by curtain call.
Bates Wilder also delivers an understated yet powerful performance as Mitch, the quiet, awkward sometimes suitor of Blanche, whose own desperation and fear is barely concealed by his “aw shucks” demeanor. Maureen Keiller brings great warmth and humor to the production as the upstairs neighbor, Eunice Hubbell, and Paul D. Farwell finds the perfect mix of pathetic and sleazy as her husband, Steve.
The dumpy Janie E. Howland set creates the perfect tone for the piece, and Frances Nelson McSherry’s costumes seem to almost mirror the emotional changes the characters experience.
There is no happy ending in this part of New Orleans, but you can still enjoy a powerful, rewarding, albeit depressing, journey into the bleak world of Tennessee Williams’ “Streetcar.”
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
Through Oct. 7
The Arsenal Center for the Arts
321 Arsenal St., Watertown
617-923-8487
www.newrep.org
