Medford theater’s production of Tennessee Williams’ classic confronts addiction, abuse, and trauma

By Lucie K. Scheuer for the Rogue Valley Times

Poor, dear, Blanche Dubois. 

She has been pushed to the edge of insanity by a desire to be loved. To be coveted. What would we do in her shoes, when we felt used up? Would we survive trauma, abuse, alcoholism, just going on our wits — or would we disassociate like Blanche? Maybe even pretend we’re somebody else?

These are some of the deeply personal questions that slip beneath the covers of Tennessee Williams’ disturbingly brilliant play “A Streetcar Named Desire.” And this adult-themed American drama, which may be the greatest of the 20th century, is now being performed, in all its intensity and brilliance, at the Collaborative Theatre Project in Medford.

The play exposes the raw side of human nature. The fragileness of the male ego. How sex can be used to initiate desire or eviscerate the soul. 

The story is a battle of wits between a downtrodden woman who looks upon the man she is attracted to with disdain and the brutish man who is drawn to and repelled by her, to the point of loathing.

Olivia Carbone has done an exceptional job of directing this complex drama, laying bare its main character’s descent into madness and the cruelty of the man more than willing to send her there.

Stella and Stanley Kowalski live in a two-room flat near the French Quarter in New Orleans post-World War II. They are extremely poor and Stella is pregnant with their first child. Stanley is an ex-sergeant, gambler and alcoholic, working a low-paying job. Stella is an abused housewife. 

All hell is about to break loose when Stella’s sister, Blanche, a comely, flirtatious but neurotic woman, shows up, having somehow lost the family plantation.

This writer sees it as a story about a broken woman, and a classic male perpetrator. He drinks, he rages and he beats his wife, whom he is totally codependent upon. He is misogynistic, void of empathy. His concept of what it is to be a man is terribly skewed.

Elliot Anderson’s Stanley is all those things but not quite as visceral or menacing as the character is sometimes played. His Stanley is more obvious. He’s in your face. Rough around the edges. He’s not holding anything back. His Stanley has a turned-up lip, champing at the bit.

Stella, touchingly played with just the right amount of reservedness and denial by Blythe Lloyd, is a classic victim of domestic violence. Lloyd beautifully demonstrates the cycle a battered woman can be caught up in.

Kelly Vincent doesn’t just play Blanche Dubois; she becomes her. It’s one of Vincent’s best performances of the year and shouldn’t be missed.

Nick Walker plays a meek, naïve, but somewhat cowardly Mitch, the suitor Blanche believes is going to take her away from it all. He gets a rise out of you.

Karen Moore as Eunice Hubbell is an empathetic neighbor who provides Stella safety and solace when she needs it. The supporting cast is tuned in: Estrella Cervantes as the nurse, Allan P. Jones as the doctor, along with David Gross, Dominick Velasco and Pablo Gonzales.

Evan Carbone’s lighting captures the moodiness of the scenes. Some key dialogue is difficult to hear, especially when Blanche reveals her former husband’s tragic end. It may be more a matter of poor acoustics than micing in this instance.

The costuming crew reveals each character well — Blanche’s penchant for expensive clothes, Stella’s simple dresses, though Stanley sometimes appears a bit too well-dressed.

The set design by Stephen DuMouchel has much greater attention to detail than usual. Just a couple of things don’t add up. The dining chairs seem too modern for the late ’40s. The wrought iron, to indicate New Orleans, might be better in a room divider than a box store chandelier.

This is a multi-layered, gut-wrenching exposé about what we bring to our adult relationships. Just remember what you’re getting into when you get on this streetcar. It takes you places you didn’t expect to go. But then, that can be the hallmark of great art.

Performances of “A Streetcar Named Desire” are set for 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 1:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Sept. 7. Tickets are $40, $35 for seniors and students. Group rates are available.

Collaborative Theatre Project is located at 555 Medford Center, Medford. Tickets and information are available at ctpmedford.org or by calling the box office at 541-779-1055.

Reach Ashland-based writer Lucie K. Scheuer at [email protected]. This review first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.