Play fulfills all 'Desires'
In a moving moment during "A Streetcar Named Desire," one of the characters emotes, "Desire brings me where I am not wanted and where I'm ashamed to be." She is referring to the New Orleans streetcar, but this profound statement extends to her own emotions and further applies to the sentiments of the show's spectators. Ã
The story, written by Tennessee Williams and first performed in 1947 relays the story of three individuals struggling with self-identity and their inability to resolve the conflict between obligation and desire. The show's characters, struggles and dialogue are as relevant today at Santa Clara in 2004 as they were nearly six decades ago. Though issues presented in "Streetcar" are controversial, and at times uncomfortable, they are vitally real. Pervasion characterizes this American classic. Ã
For some of us, "A Streetcar Named Desire" will resonate as a soap opera. There are love triangles, there are secrets, there is deceit. There is drama. There is a rippled hunk who removes his shirt numerous times. For others of us, this is our lives. We know the anguish, the frustration, the shame. We know the drama. We know the body of the rippled hunk. The applications are endless.Ã
"Streetcar is a classic piece of American Realism," said Justus Vierra, a senior theater major who plays leading man Stanley in the production. "This is a genre that defines our nation, our history ourselves. These characters are people we know. Their struggles are reflections of our own, and their obstacles no more daunting than the ones that face us every day." Ã
Director Libby Dale, with the collaboration of her cast and crew, has underscored this fact in her production. The characters are cavernous and multifaceted. They are human. Each of them has faults, but within those faults lie their strengths. The fusion of the two makes them real, makes them whole, and allows the audience and actors alike to truly immerse themselves in the characters and the story, finding bits of themselves within each one. Ã
"I am very proud of the students," said Dale. "They are tackling one of America's greatest plays. *This can be a very daunting experience, but they have risen to the occasion."Ã
Their execution is seamless and the implications truly honest. Characters who have been pigeonholed in the past are intensely eclectic in Dale's version of this national stronghold. Their duality becomes increasingly apparent as the show drones on. The actors skillfully reveal aspects of their nature at a perfect pace, bolstering audience interest and emotion. Their involvement in their role is such that the division becomes indiscernible, even to them.Ã
"The more I rehearse the play, the more I incorporate Stella-characteristics into my life off the stage,"said senior Jen Cimino who plays Stanley's wife Stella in the show. "It's scary because I even find myself using lines from the play in daily life." Ã
Such distinct passion for the work is shared by each of the show's participants, and the entire cast and crew has thrown themselves into this production full-force. Their enthusiasm and hard work emanates from each emotion filled line. The beauty of the show lies in the magic felt and created by the cast. This magic is present within the text of the work, but truly touches the audience as it permeates from the soul of the stage to every seat in Mayer Theater. Ã
The combination of the play's honesty and its magic is a powerful one. Rather than merely stirring familiarity in the hearts of audience members, it spurs a self-examination that only great works of theatre can enact. Ã
"I hope we make people think," said senior Rachel Zampelli who poignantly plays outsider Blanche in the show. "Think about their own lives -- about their own realities and their own desires. On stage we see this little slice of life and we stop time and think -- What are we living for? What do we desire from this life and what drives us to keep living at all?"Ã
"Streetcar" doesn't attempt to answer all of these questions, nor could it. It is a passionate and profound work that will be presented at Mayer Theater with an emotion that can only be produced by people who share that passion and profundity. In a fast paced age of video editing and special effects, the art of the stage production has fallen along the wayside. But there's nothing like the excitement of seeing that bare buff body, or that passionate kiss, or a falling tear in the flesh. It adds just a little necessary touch of magic to our everyday existence. It may bring us to a place that is unfamiliar or uncomfortable, but that place is provoking nonetheless. This intensely live performance of "Streetcar" transcends demography to touch us all -- to get us to think and encourage us to feel.Ã
"Without that magic in our lives -- without art and philosophy, music and passion, love and humanity -- we essentially become the living dead," said Zampelli eloquently. "We push forward never really going anywhere, our fears hindering our evolution, never wanting or believing in something better than what is merely acceptable."Ã
û Contact Michelle Murphy at (408) 554-4546 or mdmurphy@scu.edu.