Hattiloo Theatre

Hattiloo's "A Streetcar Named Desire" is eye-opening interpretation

By Christopher Blank | The Commercial Appeal

Ekundayo Bandele (left) as Stanley Kowalski, Krissi Cain as Stella Kowalski, and Bronzjuan Worthy as Blanche Dubois in the Hattiloo Theatre production of "A Streetcar Named Desire".

A typical performance of Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire” involves the expectation of a classic American drama, done the traditional way, in front of a traditional audience.

And by “traditional,” I mean “white.”

Hattiloo Theatre, Memphis’ black repertory company, once again must be commended for giving audiences for its current production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” a new cultural perspective on a landmark script. Even if the show leaves the “traditional” folks in the theater a little surprised by the translation, it’s a production that can certainly generate a much needed discussion on how the lens of race and culture opens up a whole new can of interpretation.

By Jon W. Sparks | Special to The Commercial Appeal

Ekundayo Bandele's small theater is growing to be as big as the community.

The playwright, novelist and nonstop thinker founded the Hattiloo Theatre and has immersed himself as the executive

Mark Weber / The Commercial Appeal files
Ekundayo Bandele

and artistic director of the black repertory theater. It opened its doors in March 2006 with support from a cross-section of the community, including art professionals, volunteers and donors that include the Jeniam Foundation, the Hyde Family Foundations and the Turley Foundation.

The enterprise has brought a variety of multicultural programming to the stage. This year alone it has produced "Macbeth," Darius Wallace in "The Starry Road To Freedom," "Topdog/Underdog," "From the Mississippi Delta," a revival of its 2007 production of the musical "Mahalia," August Wilson's "Fences" and the current Christmas production of "If Scrooge Was a Brother" that runs through Jan. 4.

Hattiloo knocks a modern classic out of the park.

By Chris Davis | The Memphis Flyer

I possess a fairly reliable recipe for making an August Wilson play. To begin, you take Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and paint it black. Then you take the wholesome, all-American backyard setting of Miller's All My Sons, wreck it, and move it to the slums of Anytown, USA. Add a pinch of hope to brighten the corners of the bleakest family tragedies of the 20th century, then fold all these ingredients together with such densely imagistic language that even Shakespeare might be envious. Let it all simmer over a low heat for about three hours and applaud.

Fences, which is currently getting a healthy workout at the Hattiloo Theatre, is just such an amalgamation of American theatrical styles and traditions. But when Wilson's prize-winning plays are well-cast and hitting on all cylinders, they can make you forget those out-of-date honkies to which he's so frequently compared.

Camp Awareness

Hattiloo knocks a modern classic out of the park.