Tennessee Williams Explored: A Streetcar Named Desire

An aging Southern belle seeks refuge from her demons in this new Center production of a Williams classic.

• May 8 - 30, 2004
• Eisenhower Theater
• 2 hrs. 50 min.
• $25.00 - $75.00

About the Program | Reviews | Watch and Listen | Additional Resources | Related Events

About the Program

Artists:

• Garry Hynes, director
• Tennessee Williams , playwright
• Patricia Clarkson , Blanche Dubois
• Noah Emmerich , Mitch
• Amy Ryan , Stella Kowalski
• Adam Rothenberg , Stanley Kowalski

Set against the steamy backdrop of New Orleans’ gritty French Quarter, Tennessee Williams’s 1947 Pulitzer Prize–winning drama tells the story of Blanche Dubois, a faded Southern belle driven to madness by her animalistic brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Taking refuge from her crumbling past, the fragile yet determined Blanche arrives unexpectedly at her married sister Stella’s doorstep, hoping for a better life and restoration of her senses. But her childlike helplessness, romantic yearnings, and genteel illusions are no match for the squalor of her new surroundings, the oppressive summer heat, and Stanley’s growing lustful rage. The combination of these brutish forces inevitably triggers Blanche’s mental and moral disintegration, making A Streetcar Named Desire one of Williams’s most electrifying and absorbing theatrical masterpieces.
Part of Tennessee Williams Explored

All events and artists subject to change without prior notice.

Group of 20 or more? Contact Group Sales for special terms.

Additional Resources

About the Kennedy Center Tennessee Williams Explored Series

About the Kennedy Center Theater Series

18th annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, March 24-28, 2004 : Enjoy a feast of lively panel talks, master classes, theater performances, celebrity interviews, food and music events, a scholars conference, the Stanley & Stella Shouting Contest, and more, in the city Tennessee Williams called his "spiritual home."

Reviews and Articles

Field, Clarkson, Ivey Cast for Williams Plays
The Washington Post "The Kennedy Center will announce today that veteran actresses Sally Field, Patricia Clarkson and Dana Ivey have been signed to play three of the theater's best-known female characters as part of the center's 2004 Tennessee Williams festival." Read More...

Tennessee Williams is hotter than ever
USA Today "It could be argued that the hottest playwright in the country right now is a man who has been dead for more than 20 years." Read More...

Related Events

Tennessee Williams - His Life and Work  Apr 21, 2004 at 6:00 PM 

Tennessee Williams Explored: Five by Tenn  Apr 21 - May 9, 2004

Visions of Tennessee  Apr 28, 2004 at 6:00 PM 

Behind the Scenes Tour of A Street Car Named Desire  May 17, 2004 at 6:00 PM 

Tennessee Williams Explored: A Distant Country Called Youth  Jun 11 - 13, 2004

Tennessee Williams Explored: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof  Jun 12 - Jul 4, 2004

Tennessee Williams Explored: Glass Menagerie  Jul 17 - Aug 8, 2004

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