Phillyist Reviews... A Streetcar Named Desire

It's an interesting idea, casting some of Philadelphia's most recognizable musical and comedic actors in a play that's certainly neither of those things. But perhaps so dramatically recasting Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, as director Malcolm Black has done at the Walnut Street Theatre, is a smart idea: it distances us from the Marlon Brando/Vivien Leigh/Kim Hunter/Karl Malden casting we all know and allows us to take a fresh look at the show.

Sometimes, the distance may have been too great: Jeffrey Coon is trying so hard not to play Stanley as Brando did that the performance falls flat once or twice. That being said, he and Sandra Struthers (Stella) had impressive chemistry onstage. The conclusion to the famous "Stellllllllllaaaaaaa!" scene was so heartrending that it was almost difficult to watch. I was not the only person in the audience who stirred upon seeing the couple's reunion.

Scott Greer, most often seen on the Philadelphia stage in the capacity of either singer or comedian (or both), takes a complex turn in this production as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell, Stanley's poker buddy. Mitch falls for Stella's sister, the refined Blanche DuBois (Susan Riley Stevens), but as things take a turn for the worse, his character goes from jolly suitor to haunted assailant, and Greer plays both sides of the character remarkably well. It helps that Stevens, a comedienne herself, serves as a perfect foil to Greer, playing Blanche in all her vulnerabilities and insecurities as well as her lies. A stable character by no means, Blanche is easily unlikeable, but Stevens lends her an impressive amount of pathos, allowing us to understand the character, even if we don't necessarily like her.

Easily one of the Walnut's best productions in recent memory, this Streetcar may not be quite like the original, but it's certainly worth the price of admission.

Susan Riley Stevens (Blanche DuBois) and Jeffrey Coon (Stanley Kowalski) appear in the Walnut Street Theatre production of A Streetcar Named Desire, open through March 1. Photo by Mark Garvin.