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.

Set in New Orleans of the 1940s, it’s a “Streetcar” infused with a post-Katrina attention to color and class lines, though the script hasn’t been reworded at all. Blanche (happily commenting that her name is French for “white”) still insults Stanley by calling him a “Pollack,” to which he replies, irritably, that people from Poland are called Poles.

For many white viewers, “Streetcar” is often seen as something of a nail-biter. Blanche DuBois, a tragic symbol of the fading south, and a nervous, mentally ill hypocrite, comes to live with her sister Stella and Stella’s oafish blue-collar husband Stanley Kowalski. The tension between Blanche and Stanley can typically be cut with a knife. 

And yet, Hattiloo’s audience on opening night was the most animated I’ve ever seen at a Tennessee Williams play. Several women gave each other high-fives throughout the performance as if the play were written about people they knew. Each time Stanley and Blanche were alone together, the audience giggled with anticipation.

At the end of the play, the whole theater was howling with laughter. Probably not what Williams intended. Perhaps one culture’s tragedy is another culture’s comedy?

It’s not that director Leslie Reddick tried to play up the funny. It’s a fairly straightforward staging, though the nicely atmospheric set and lighting by Ekundayo Bandele and Jathan Innerarity effectively transports the drama from the poor side of white New Orleans to the poor side of black New Orleans.

Bandele’s Stanley is suitably muscular and overbearing. His presence onstage takes the show to a higher level. Bronzjuan Worthy’s interpretation of Blanche is straightforward and recognizable: a woman who thinks far too highly of herself but is ultimately a hypocrite. Krissi Cain-Bolden brings much sensitivity and realism to the role of Stella.

It’s eye-opening (especially for a white person) to see how an all-black “Streetcar” relates to an all-black audience. And judging by the comparatively staid reactions I’ve seen of all-white audiences to all-white “Streetcars,” this show could be an excellent starting point in any conversation about racial perspectives.

http://www.gomemphis.com/news/2009/sep/28/stage-review-hattiloos-streetcar-named-desire-eye-/