Theatre puts on “Streetcar”
By Faith Woodside
STELLA! This famous line resounded through the halls of Richmond Civic Theatre during Saturday’s performance of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” This Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tennessee Williams is an intensely emotional piece, and certainly a big undertaking for everyone involved in its production.
“I felt the desire to honor, to do it justice, be true … bring it off in the way the author wanted it to be perceived,” said Director David Cobine. It is fair to say that Cobine succeeded in his goal, for the depth and tenderness of Williams’ play was evident from the opening scene to curtain call.
The play centers on the relationship between Blanche Du- Bois, played by Krista Falcone, and Stanley Kowalski, played by Andy Dudas. The story begins when Blanche, a delicate and dreamy woman, comes to stay with her sister Stella, played by Kristy Jackson.
As the play unfolds Blanche, Stella and Stanley are pulled into a spiral of their own desires, culminating in the final mental and emotional breakdown of Blanche. Falcone and Dudas gave solid performances that captured the complexities of Blanche and Stanley.
The depth and range of the characters in “A Streetcar Named Desire” contribute to why the play has justifiably earned the title of an American classic. Tennessee Williams’ script is beautiful in its subtle development of individuals utterly lost between fantasy and reality.
In casting a play with such emotionally intricate characters, Cobine looked for individuals “that seem[ed] to have a feel or sense of that character’s personality and desires [with] potential to grow into that character.”
In particular Cobine wanted to portray Blanche in a way that would show her as “worthy of compassion.” Cobine explained that for him Blanche “was the author’s character” and as such he wanted to make the audience care about her and her tragic fall.
To accomplish this, Cobine worked extensively with the individual actors to explore the development of their characters. Of the cast, Cobine said that “they were perfectly insightful about the characters they were playing.”
Cobine spoke in depth about the collaborative process of bringing a play to life. In “A Streetcar Named Desire,” lighting and set design hold a particularly important role, since lighting is used by Tennessee Williams as a way to develop the characters.
Lighting designer Dick Woodruff, and set designer Carvin Rhinehart did a wonderful job creating the mood and inviting the audience into a 1950s household in New Orleans.
The production team also gave close attention to the music played during the set changes. Music Advisor Ron Cobine worked with David Cobine to select a piece of music for each set change that was specific to the mood of the scene.
It was this kind of attention to detail that allowed the audience to be captivated by the performance. “A Streetcar Named Desire” transcends time and generation, and it takes courage and hard work from everyone involved to produce such a celebrated and powerful play. The Richmond Civic Theatre Company deserves heartfelt congratulations.
The next main stage production of The Richmond Civic Theatre is “A Chorus Line” - check it out online at richmondcivictheatre.org
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