An unstoppable force meets an immovable object in “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. The play, evergreen, shows what happens when someone living in denial and convinced of her own delusions is smacked back down to earth by reality, with disastrous results.
Directed by Stephen Hamilton, the actors bring their A-game to a show that is physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing. Daniela Mastropietro stars as the unstoppable force, Blanche DuBois, and she is met by the immovable object that is Shea Buckner’s Stanley Kowalski.
Once again, Bay Street’s production and set design perfectly set the tone, bringing to life the cramped one-bedroom apartment in New Orleans where the two characters are at odds. Both leads are unrelenting, tenacious, building a fever that breaks at the climax of the show.
Ms. Mastropietro portrays Blanche’s delicacy and stubborn delusion with nuance, commanding the stage. Mr. Buckner rises to combat her, or anyone else who gets in his character’s way, and the two play off each other with such animosity that each minute is thrilling.
Between them is Stella, Blanche’s sister and Stanley’s wife, played by Katie Rodgers. She has to walk a tightrope between two diametrically opposed forces living in tight proximity, and she is deft, showing how Stella is torn between her sister, and the previous life she represents, and her husband and what her life is now.
Nobody does familial tension quite like Tennessee Williams, and the fact that the play feels so relevant 77 years after it was first performed is a testament to both the writing and the actors.
Rounding out the cast are Stanley’s poker buddies, Pablo Gonzalez, Steve Hubbell, and Harold (Mitch) Mitchell, portrayed by Carlos Garcia, Joe Pallister, and Sawyer Spielberg, and Nicole Marie Hunt as Eunice Hubbell, a landlady, upstairs neighbor, and wife to Steve. Matthew Conlon is the doctor, and Adelaide Mestre is the “Mexican woman” and the nurse.
Each character, wittingly or unwittingly, plays a role in the war of attrition between Blanche and Stanley. Along with the themes of desire and delusion being struck down by cold reality, I found myself thinking about the toxic masculinity that Stanley embodies. In the end it comes down to his need to control everything, from his wife to his poker games. His inability to control Blanche, which he believes is his right, is what fully sends Blanche down her path of personal destruction.
Relying on the kindness of strangers is not a realistic way to live in this world. But you also cannot control everything set before you, and trying to will only lead to anger and dissatisfaction.
The play is staged through Bay Street’s Literature Live! program, which is in its 16th season. Its focus is to get students to experience great works for free. According to Tracy Mitchell, the program’s director, over the years it has welcomed tens of thousands of students from Montauk to New Jersey.
Fight direction is by Rick Sordelet, scenic and projection design is by Mike Billings, with costume design by Yuka Silvera, sound design by David Brandenburg, and lighting design by Justin Poruban. Melissa Sparks is the production stage manager, with Eric Jacobson as the props supervisor. Brian Clemente is the assistant director.
“A Streetcar Named Desire” will run through Dec. 1. Tickets range from $49.99 to $119.99. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays.
