Susan Granger’s review of “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Harvey Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music: ’09-’10 season)
Cate Blanchett dazzles as emotionally desperate Blanche DuBois in the Sydney Theater Company’s superb production of the Tennessee Williams’ 1947 classic, directed by Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann.
The Ink Spots croon “If I Didn’t Care” when we first glimpse pale, frail Blanche sitting on her small suitcase at the edge of the stage, ready to find the dingy, drab apartment at 632 Elysian Fields in New Orleans’ French Quarter, where her younger sister, Stella (Robin McLeavy), lives with her hunky, ill-tempered Polish husband, Stanley Kowalski (Joel Edgerton). Burdened with a lifetime of heartache, grief and guilt, yet fluttering with Southern flightiness, pungent perfume and faux frivolity, Blanche, an obvious intruder, moves in with them, as she muses, “I’ve got to keep hold of myself.”
Eventually, Blanchett reveals the crux of trembling Blanche’s deep psychological damage to “a gentleman caller,” Stanley’s friend, Mitch (Tim Richards), sipping whiskey, as she reflects, “Southern Comfort! What is that, I wonder?” before revealing her many “intimacies with strangers.”
Oscar-winner Blanchett is one of a long line of actresses who have distinguished themselves as Blanche DuBois, including Jessica Lange, Natasha Richardson, Vivien Leigh, Tallulah Bankhead, Rosemary Harris, Blythe Danner, Jessica Tandy and Ann-Margret. And the play pivots on Blanchett’s brilliant interpretation of the role. While Robin McLeavy, Joe Edgerton and Tim Richards offer stalwart support, it’s just that – support. The devastating drama rests on Blanchett’s thin shoulders and she acquits it admirably. While Blanche may be defeated at the conclusion, Cate Blanchett is not. That’s why this imported production is worth seeing. Indeed, it was Blanchett’s husband, Anrew Upton, who lured Liv Ullman (who built her reputation as Ingmar Bergman’s muse) to Australia, where he and Blanchett are co-artistic directors and CEOs of the Sydney Theater Company.