theater review
ORT’s ‘Streetcar’ worth catching
By Jonathan Siegle
Of th# Emerald
Oregon Repertory Theatre's
production of Tennessee Wil
liams’ emotional "Streetcar
Named Desire," directed by
David Lunney, is what regional
theater should be It is tight,
competent, and thoroughly
professional
Lunney's staging is clean and
direct He places his actors in a
simple, effective, representative
set, tells them who they are, and
lets them carry the show And
they do The acting is outstand
ing
"Streetcar" takes place in the
hot, muggy New Orleans sum
mer It is the story of two sisters,
Blanche and Stella, and Stella's
husband Stanley Kowalski The
women are the end of a line of
Southern aristocracy The fami
ly plantation has been lost, and
Blanche moves into Stella's
two-room apartment
Blanche lives in a fantasy
world of manners, of ladies and
gentlemen, wealthy beautiful
people, lost loves, and unhappy
memories. Stella lives a happy
life on the rough edge of society
with Stanley, who readily admits
he's a dumb polack
Every actor keeps a trunk full
of parts to dream of doing
“Streetcar" is an ensemble of
such parts Each of the leads
uses well his or her opportunity
to play this goody from the
trunk They are both strong and
deep.
Elizabeth Remini is Blanche
She is girlishly flirtatious with
poor Mitch, the gentlemanly
mama's boy who comes courtin'
her. She is cooly, ruthlessly
sexual when teasing the poor
paper boy with her charms Her
accent, posture, and rapid
change of moods bring Blanche
vividly to life
She's a queen She's a tramp
She’s a sorrowful neurotic living
out an existence she never
really had in the first place
Martha Wehmeier as sister
Stella is warm and loving and
understanding She loves Stan
ley and her sister She is happy
living in a dump with working
class people, unashamed of
them or her aristocratic heri
tage She is having a baby, and
looks every bit the joyful expec
tant mother
Their scenes together may
remind one of the paddle balls
we used to play with There is
Stella, solid, firm, friendly, and
there is Blanche, bouncing off
her with a great deal of force
and little harm done Stella
doesn't listen when Blanche
gets morbid
A perfect example occurs
when Blanche tells Stella she is
married to a madman. “I'm not
in anything I want to get out of,"
Stella tells her. Blanche per
sists Stella repeats herself, with
a bit more conviction, but with
out losing control Blanche
can’t win
If there is a weakness among
the leads, it is perhaps Ken Hof
as Stanley Oh, he's a polack all
right He's rough and crude,
and he cries with conviction
after he drunkenly slaps Stella
But Hof never gives us a chance
to see any development in
Stanley He doesn't know
Blanche is coming, yet he starts
off hating her Stella, loving and
gentle, deeply cares for him, but
he shows little of why she
should We have only her word
for it that he's all she says he is
What Hof blessedly isn't is
Marlon Brando It is unfortunate
when a part in a play is memor
ably played by a famous actor
Director Lunney does not allow
Hof to play Brando Together
they've come up with a Stanley
that fits this production, this
cast, this actor
The supporting cast is
adequate, except for Ernesto
Ravetto as Mitch, who quite
nearly steals whatever scene
he's in As Mitch. Ravetto is
humble, honest, and very
square He plays his scenes with
quiet restraint, never allowing
himself to stumble into carica
ture He is temperate He
sincerely loves Blanche, and we
believe it
‘'Streetcar” is powerful
drama, yet there are some very
funny moments Ravetto may
have the best line of the show
he tells an empty set after Stan
ley slaps Stella and everyone
rushes out that "Poker should
not be played in a house with
women.”
The set is spare A few poles
to indicate walls, the Kowalski
family furniture, and the correct
props to go with the characters
The numerous sound cues may
be somewhat intrusive in the
intimate theater in the old
Eugene Hotel, but the lighting is
understated and useful
In the midst of ORT's survival
fundraising, producing director
Lunney has put together a mas
terful production He's chosen
one of the finest modern Amer
ican dramas, given it a powerful
cast, and staged it simply in the
closeness his theater provides
It's a winning assembly. Go
see it Take your friends
“Streetcar” runs through
Oct.31 at the Oregon Repertory
Theater, 222 Broadway St
WEATHER RUNNING
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Correction
A Wednesday article in the
Emerald incorrectly stated
that the Wah Chang facility is
a nuclear plant in Washing
ton Teledyne Wah Chang is
a raw metals company in
Millersburg. near Albany
The same article also stat
ed that Mark Reis would be
speaking about the inef
ficiency of energy conserva
tion methods Reis is speak
ing on the efficiency of con
servation methods
w
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