Theater: “A Streetcar Named Desire” @ BAM

The last few months have been boom times for fans of Tennessee Williams— more specifically his play, “A Streetcar Named Desire.” On Christmas Eve, Film Forum presented a 4k restoration of the 1951 Elia Kazan film. In January, “Kowalski,” a new play that imagines the first meeting between Brando and Williams, debuted at the Duke.

And now we have a revival of the much lauded West End production at BAM Harvey, starring “Gladiator II” star Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran.

The production is a sharp stick in the eye for “Streetcar” traditionalists (full disclosure: I am one of them.) There is no attempt to recreate the French Quarter as Elia Kazan’s film lovingly tried to do.

Instead, Madeleine Girling’s square set is blank, and feels more like a rehearsal space. The raised platform where the action takes place feels like the stage in a gladiator’s arena.

Under Rebecca Frecknall’s direction, the focus of this production is not on the set, but on the talents of its two stars. Ferran, who was originally an understudy for Blanche in London, offers us an entirely different take on DuBois. The campy mannerisms Vivian Leigh made famous are gone. Instead we get a jittery, manic, yet highly believable performance of a woman slowing going mad. Although Blanche seems frail, she nevertheless holds her own against Stanley, which is perhaps as Williams originally intended.

Mescal’s performance is different from Brando’s. He lacks the latter’s sexual magnetism (sorry/not sorry, fellow Mescalites!) but is on more familiar ground when he can toss chairs around, yell “Stella!” and get right in Blanche’s face. As the play progresses, Mescal becomes even more explosive. Their final confrontation when he crawls on all fours ready to pounce on Blanche is frightening.

Mescal’s Stanley is also abusive toward his wife Stella. Which brings me to the real surprise of this production: Anjana Vasan, whose Stella may be the best interpretation I’ve seen since Kim Hunter’s. Stella has always been a tough character to get right: she has to act as the moderator between her sister and her husband, and at the same time be a pliant bedmate to Stanley. Vasan is so good, that whenever she’s on stage, she nearly steals the scene from her co-stars.

A few other breaks with tradition include the addition of live music on stage—or rather slightly above the stage. Tom Penn beats a drum ominously to accompany the waves and crests of the drama, and singer Gabriela García provides eerie vocalizing. The supporting cast watches the action from the sidelines when they are not actually performing.

This one-sided assault on a vulnerable woman is a pretty scary, but probably more authentic interpretation of “Streetcar.” The funniest line of this production may be Mescal’s, when as Stanley he dismisses Blanche’s “Hollywood glamour stuff.” As of January, “Gladiator II’s” box office was $450 million dollars. Thank you, Mister Hollywood.

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