Theater: “Kowalski” at the Duke
The charms of “Kowalski,” Gregg Ostrin’s
new play at the Duke, sneak up on you gradually. It’s based on a theatrical legend: that Tom (“Tennessee”) Williams was reluctant to cast Marlon Brando as the lead in “A Streetcar Named Desire”—until the 22-year-old actor showed up at Tom’s Provincetown home and unclogged his toilet.
At first glance, Brandon Flynn, who plays Brando, seems to be all wrong for the part. Not only is he too thin but he’s lacking Marlon’s animal magnetism. As it turns out, physical resemblance doesn’t matter much because Flynn happens to be a superb Kowalski. He plays him as a rude, uncouth SOB with the courage to stand up to the highly theatrical Tom (Robin Lord Taylor)—just as a real-life Stanley-type would.
The play adds secondary characters who may or may not have been present at the Provincetown meeting. These include Pancho Rodriguez (Sebastian Trevino), Tom’s hot-headed Mexican-American lover, who was said to be the real inspiration for the Stanley Kowalski character. Margo “The Texas Tornado” Jones (played by the excellent Alison Cimmet) also appears as the director that Tom’s about to dump. After the playwright has a temper tantrum, Pancho and Margo storm off to a local bar, leaving Tom all by his lonesome.
Then young Brando swaggers in, all disheveled and nasty and three days late for his audition for “Streetcar.” The two men get off on the wrong foot, Tom telling Marlon that not only he is too young for the lead but that John Garfield would be a better choice. Brando responds that men like John Garfield are not real actors; they’re “just movie stars reading lines.”
The verbal sparring match that follows is not only amusing but often poignant, as it seems they have a great deal in common, including an unhappy childhood in a small town. The talk is interrupted when Jo (Ellie Ricker), Brando’s GF, shows up. She is thrilled that she’s meeting Tennessee Williams, which seems to incense Brando even more.
While all the cast members are fine, Flynn towers over all of them. As the would-be Stanley, his Brando has no shame about wiping his greasy fingers on his T-shirt or scrapping with Jo, often on the verge of physically striking her. The violent behavior he exhibits is his real audition for the part.
Kudos to Ostrin, whose play successfully reimagines this brief moment in theatrical history. Directed by Colin Hanlon, “Kowalski” plays through February 23 at the Duke. How to get there? Take a streetcar to midtown Manhattan, and get off at a stop called West 42nd Street.
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