A Streetcar Named Desire

By: Tennessee Williams

Narrated by: Carla Gugino, Audra McDonald

Following his 2019 production of A Raisin in the Sun, celebrated as "an absorbing, watershed revival," by The New York Times, Robert O’Hara returns to Williamstown Theatre Festival to direct this Tennessee Williams masterpiece. With Emmy, Grammy, and six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Blanche DuBois alongside Carla Gugino as Stella, O’Hara takes a fresh and visceral look at the emotionally charged relationship between these two iconic sisters. Haunted by her past, Blanche seeks refuge with Stella and Stanley (Ariel Shafir) in New Orleans, where she wrestles with the nature of her sister’s husband, her sister’s denial, and her own unraveling mind.

Now available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

©1947 Tennessee Williams (P)2020 2020 AO Media LLC

Classic With Fresh Insight

I found myself drawn in immediately. The raw emotion of the actors and the theater of sound produced a visceral experience of life with abuse, addiction and mental illness. Ohara’s focus on the 2 women, their relationship to men and each other as sisters, gave nuance to
a familiar piece of writing. Stanley is rough, sly, vengeful and abusing yet cries like a terrified little boy when drunk then does a turn into wildly sexual, twisting the listener’s emotions along with him at every step. The whole cast was well matched and made this radio play into a “theater-going experience”. Robert Ohara’s interview at the end is well worth listening to. His take on Williams and this play in particular helps shed light on the nuances of this production.

Streetcar Continues to Electrify--Don't Miss

Tennessee Williams' legendary A Streetcar Named Desire continues its path of theatre immortality, thanks to a brilliant new Audible production by the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Originally scheduled for full live production, the pandemic once again has called on actors and directors to use their creativity and inventiveness, and Williamstown certainly has. Directed by Robert O'Hara, the production features the wondrous Audra McDonald as Blanche; the six-time Tony winner once again reveals her astounding versatility, with a Blanche that thrills, amuses, terrifies, and finally breaks your heart. Actor Ariel Shafir is a revelation as Stanley, showing us a grown-up New Orleans street punk who sounds straight from the crooked sidewalks of the Crescent City. He's unpredictable and electrifying and does the near-impossible: He makes you forget the legendary Brando, certainly for awhile. Carla Gugino is superb as Stella, caught between her love for her sister and her husband (we know who wins out). Sullivan Jones is a stalwart Mitch. Williams' simplest lines lift us to the level of poetry: "I can't stand a naked light bulb anymore than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action." Blanche and Stanley's harrowing final scene together is chilling, aided by jungle-like sounds and music (Williams remarks that we should feel in a jungle by that time) by sound editor Lindsay Jones. Don't miss this Streetcar; and leave the kids in another room,

Transportive, Nostalgic, and NEW!

From the moment the streetcar clanged I was there. I felt the heat on my skin and the cool rush of a coke on ice. I could smell Stanley’s cigarettes and the whiskey on his breath. For a radio play, it was astounding to see and feel the claustrophobia of those two rooms and the walls of Blanche’s mind crumbling in. At the same time, masterful acting and sound effects took me straight to the seashore.

Brilliant casting of everyone! Even the smaller parts felt real and fully three-dimensional.

I was utterly mesmerized by Audra McDonald’s mad meandering, and Ariel Shafir brought a heartbreaking side to what is so often a purely brutish Stanley.

Definitely worth a listen. Or two!

Best I have ever heard on Audible

Audra Mcdonald is unparalleled in this play and makes Blanche more hers than anyone else who has even tried! Brava!

first time viewer...

I didn't know what to expect other than this is a classic... raw, unnerving, brilliant!