When the Wimberley Players announced their 2023 season, I applauded their lineup of classic plays that included “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde and “Sense and Sensibility” by Kate Hamil (from the Jane Austin novel of the same name). But I secretly wondered how they could pull off “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Anyone over 50 who is the least bit literate in American theater will have some experience of Marlon Brando’s film portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in the drama by Tennessee Williams. His raw and desperate cry of “Stella” has traveled widely throughout the American experience, and it’s a lot for any actor to live up to.
Tennessee Williams was 36 years old when he wrote Streetcar. It has been speculated that Williams’ vulgar, irresponsible bullies, like Stanley, were probably modeled after his own father and others who tormented Williams during his childhood.
Living as a gay man in New Orleans’ French Quarter, Williams wrote the play at a time when hiding one’s preferences for love would have been a necessity. He depicts the inner turmoil that results from living a duplicitous life through his character Blanche, who deteriorates into mental instability during the course of the play. Like Director Trish Rigdon wrote in her Director’s Remarks, there have been volumes written about the play since it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1948.
The minute you walk into the Wimberley Players theater, you are transported to post-World War II New Orleans, thanks to a set designed by Kevin Rigdon. It thoroughly captures the story’s steamy, claustrophobic and dingy apartment shared by Blanche DuBois and Stanley and Stella Kowalski in the city’s French Quarter. Rigdon removed the set’s back wall to create space for street scenes that add to the lack of privacy which proves to be so disruptive to the Kowalskis. With new LED stage lights overhead, Rigdon as Lighting Designer expertly pulls us through the apartment and into the soft glow of the streetlights outside as each step of the drama unfolds.
At the core of this drama is the tumultuous journey of Blanche DuBois. Johanna Bain Johnson’s Blanche dazzled with obsessed intensity as she portrayed a woman driven to hack away at the primal nature of her brother- in-law in order to shore up her insupportable illusions. The friction she created with alpha male Stanley, played by William Windle, set my teeth on edge, as they battled their way to their inevitable showdown. Windle’s portrayal of Stanley as the insecure, angry, guilty and sometimes tender man who took Stella from her privileged life is powerful, deeply touching and raw. There is no doubt in the audience’s mind how much he loves and needs Stella.
Lauren Bouquet’s portrayal of Stella added a layer to the character I found utterly captivating. She pulled off a kind of knowing confidence that provided the grace note to this tumultuous drama. Angel Cruz, who portrayed “Mitch” Mitchell, convinced me with a sincerity so genuine that I came to understand how he became the vessel for Blanche’s desperate hopes. Robby Vance and Molly Poorboy, as the Kowalskis’ neighbors, Steve and Eunice Hubbell, brought the right amount of authenticity to their roles to support the play’s narrative. Director Trish Rigdon and her team truly crafted a memorable theatrical experience which did real justice to Williams’ iconic play.
This riveting performance will have you thinking about the depths of desire, truth and the human experience long after you leave the theater. To learn more, go to wimberleyplayers. org.
