Review: ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

In Tennessee Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' a battle of personalities takes place between troubled Blanche and her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley. 

But thanks to an outstanding, nuanced performance by Lisa Ermel, Stella (Blanche's sister and Stanley's wife) not only is caught in the middle, but also serves as the compelling center in a solid presentation by Acting Up Productions at the Indy Fringe Building (Through March 23).

Not a long-suffering plain Jane, Ermel’s Stella is as passionate about her husband as he is about her. She loves her sister but she also knows her sister. She’s amused and afraid, comfortable and questioning—a complex, intense, sometimes not-so-bright, three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood woman.

No slight intended to the rest of the company, but in Ermel’s hands, the tragedy this time doesn’t seem to be about the destruction of fragile Blanche but, rather, the ripping apart of her sister.

Her final cry of anguish won’t soon be forgotten

More on "Streetcar" and the IRT's "Other Desert Cities" in the March 24 IBJ.