A Streetcar Named Desire

Sometimes a great play can carry its message over to the audience no matter how bad the production. But even "Streetcar" is having a tough time at the Boston Summer Theatre. Poor direction and unsure characterizations rob much of the power from Tennessee WilWilliams' masterpiece.

Julie Haydon does an adequate job in the part of Blanche, the unhappy nymphomanic, until she tries too hard to assume a Southern accent and fails miserably. Norma Connolly, as Blanche's sister Stella Kowalski, a supposedly sympathetic character, is unconvincing at her best and insipid at her worst, but her biggest trouble is that she just doesn't understand her part. And when Joe Graham, who played a very effeminate Mitch, discovered that Blanche had lied to him about her purity, he left the audience completely cold.

Perhaps the most flagrant example of how poor is "Streetcar's" direction is in the final moments, where a doctor and a matron take Blanche to an asylum. The scene lost most of its power when these two characters walked in looking like something out of a freak show and provoked a loud guffaw from the audience.

One redeeming feature of this production is Jerry O'Loughlin's excellent job as Stanley Kowalski, Blanche's nemesis. What distinguishes him from the rest of the cast is that he knows his part and how to play it.

But despite all the drawbacks of this show, "Streetcar" is still a fine play, and you won't waste an evening seeing it.