Bay Little Theatre presents ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
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Mar 19, 2013, 17:56
The Bay St. Louis Little Theatre will open its latest production “A Streetcar Named Desire” on March 22.
The Pulitzer Prize winning play was written by Tennessee Williams and opened on Broadway in 1947. It was also awarded the Drama Critics Circle Award. It was restaged for Broadway in 1988. “Tennessee Williams is revealed as a genuinely poetic playwright whose knowledge of people is honest and thorough and whose sympathy is profoundly human.” –The New York Times.
The play was chosen by the Theatre Guild for the Little Theatre’s annual tribute to Tennessee Williams. The Little Theatre was the setting for the movie “This Property is Condemned” which is based on a one-act play by Tennessee Williams. This connection to the writer is highlighted annually to celebrate his birthday on March 26th. The Williams’ celebration includes a production of one of his plays, the annual “Stella Yelling Contest,” and the all-day “Stella’s Blues and BBQ Festival” that opens at noon on Saturday, April 6th in the entire Depot District. The “Stella Yelling Contest” is April 6th at 2pm in front of the balcony at the Little Theatre.
The story of “A Streetcar Named Desire” is set in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Blanche DuBois is a school teacher and daughter of a once wealthy land-owning family in Mississippi.
She comes to New Orleans to stay with her younger sister to calm her nerves from the stress of losing the family’s plantation. Her sister Stella seems to be happily married to Stanley Kowalski who is a brutish, uneducated working-class Polish American.
Blanche, posing as a refined aristocrat, can’t stand Stanley, who in turn, cannot stand the aging Southern beauty that has brought discomfort to his marital harmony. Friction between the two builds and time goes by, and intensifies with Stella’s pregnancy, and Blanche’s seduction of Stanley’s shy best friend Mitch. When Stanley discovers some of the sordid details of Blanche’s past, the conflict reaches a violent peak.
The show is directed by Larry Clark and is produced by Cheryl Grace. The cast includes Cheryl Grace as Blanche DuBois, Stephen Hoffman as Stanley, Ginger Schmidt as Stella, Larry Clark as Mitch, Mary Ellen Murphy as Eunice, Clayton Pennylegion as Steve, Charlie Desommes as Pablo, Jericho Patton as the young collector, Christina Richardson as the nurse, Richard O’Briant as the doctor, Elizabeth Devlin as the neighbor, Sarah Morgan as flower lady, and Amaya Clark and Tayden Bishop as vendors.
The production crew includes Dean Noel as set designer and construction, Cherie Funderburk as stage manager and prop manager, Ben Levitt as light and sound director, costumes by Daryl Himel and Darlene Holtgreve, stage crew includes Beverly Vincent. Sound effects are by Clayton Pennylegion.
The show dates and times are March 22, March 23, March 29, April 5 at 8pm and March 24 and April 7 at 2pm. Note that there will not be shows on Saturday, March 25, Sunday, March 26, and Saturday, April 6 because of the “Stella’s Blues and BBQ Festival” and the Easter weekend.
Doors open one hour before the show and seating starts 30 minutes before each show.
Tickets for the show can be purchased online at www.bsllt.org or purchased at Maggie May’s at 124 Main Street or Twinlight Creations at 136 Main Street. Ticket fees are $14 adults, $10 Seniors 65+, veterans, military, and students with ID, and $6 for children 12 and under. Seat reservations can be made by calling 228-864-2882 or email the Little Theatre. Reservations for seats must be made for all ticket holders including season ticket holders to be able to accommodate the show’s audiences.
The Little Theatre website www.bsllt.org has more information and pictures of the “Streetcar” cast and production rehearsals.
