Southern Discomfort: “A Streetcar Named Desire,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through September 22

“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” Or so goes the quip famously attributed to Benjamin Franklin – and 157 years after Franklin’s death, Tennessee Williams’ renowned A Streetcar Named Desire was first performed, perfectly embodying Franklin’s quote.

If perhaps you’ve only heard of the show peripherally, this classic tale, now running at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre, follows Blanche DuBois (Kate Farence) as she comes to stay with her sister Stella (Leslie Day) and brother-in-law Stanley (Cole McFarren) in their small New Orleans home. Only Southern belle Blanche and the blue-collar Stanley are about as opposite in personality and social status as you can get ... the only thing they have in common is that they both adore Stella. As it happens, Stella love isn’t quite enough to make this houseguest not stink.

Playcrafters' production is skillfully directed by Reader employee Mike Schulz, whose fresh take offers up an incredibly stripped-down, almost bare re-telling. With minimal set pieces and props, some even pantomimed, what you see is what you get. This allows Williams’ words to shine – there’s nothing to distract you from them. So much so that at one point in the first act, I actually closed my eyes just to listen to the story being told. Williams' tale has lost no poignancy (I would imagine) since its premiere 77 years ago.

This doesn’t mean there isn’t anything visually appealing to this Streetcar. Schulz employed a row of chairs across the back of the stage where, generally, actors in the company who were not needed for a current scene sat. These actors were creatively utilized in minor actions, occasionally playing the role of the fridge, often of cigarette lighters, and intermittently augmenting the on-stage action in subtle ways. One could almost forget they were there, until someone else felt the need for a smoke.

Watching the actors ingeniously support the various scene changes in blue light became art in and of itself. As the set was changed for a subsequent scene, Blanche often remained on stage, going about her business before exiting. Were these dreams, or moments of Blanche’s subconscious spiraling toward delusions? Well, that’s for the audience to decide. But these shifts were clever and kept the action moving. (And with a run time of two-and-a-half hours counting intermission, I was additionally grateful to not view clumsy scene changes.)

I’m always a proponent of “If you can’t do it well, don’t do it at all.” Apparently, Schulz agrees with me, because the show's Southern accents were basically nonexistent. Farence is really the only performer who employed one that I really noticed. It was most fascinating to watch Farence’s Blanche – her alcoholism was apparent from almost the first moment she was onstage and, while Farence excelled at portraying Blanche’s fragility, the character never garnered much sympathy from me.

Rather, that sympathy was given to Jeremy Mahr’s Mitch – Stanley’s ultra-kind co-worker and friend who finds himself entranced by Blanche. Mahr’s character is a great big teddy bear of a guy who slowly falls for Blanche, lock, stock, and barrel. The dichotomy between Blanche and Mitch is immediately apparent, so it doesn’t take much to assume they’re doomed from the start. Yet you can’t help rooting for them, simply because Mahr’s Mitch is portrayed so sweetly that you really want him to have a happy ending.

Conversely, and logically, I know that Stanley is meant to be villainous. But McFarren brings so much humanity to the role that it’s difficult to see him from Blanche’s “animalistic” perspective. From where I was sitting, Stanley was quite patient with the many inconveniences he faced in having a houseguest for five long months. Stanley clearly adores his wife; his actions toward her weren’t as gruff as I would have imagined. And I mean no disrespect to stage-combat director Lily Blouin, but the attack on Stella wasn’t particularly as upsetting as expected. (Conversely, McFarren’s “Stella!” was every bit as dramatic as anticipated.) All this is to say that if you have any preconceived notions of who Williams’ characters might be on stage, this Streetcar might successfully challenge your expectations quite a bit.

Day’s Stella was easily the most likable character, though I noticed she moved surprisingly swiftly for someone at the tail end of a pregnancy, and in the Southern humidity, to boot. Her steady demeanor in the face of her sister’s mental instability was a welcome contrast, and Day’s portrayal kept Stella captivating.

Meanwhile, fellow Reader theatre reviewer Alexander Richardson’s sound design (perhaps intentionally?) had me going nearly as mad as Blanche. At times, the sound level was set so quiet as to be barely discernible from where I sat. This was especially true at the top of the show, and I fear I all but missed the dialogue recorded in the sound design, along with the background sounds of New Orleans. Later, as Blanche spirals further into despair and madness, the sound became repetitive and almost loud enough to overpower the actors.

Playcrafters’ A Streetcar Named Desire feels like an enigma: It wasn’t at all what I expected, yet delivers an intriguing night of theatre even still. If you’ve never seen this American classic, this production is a great introduction to the material. And if you’re a longtime fan of the play or film version, Playcrafters gives you a fresh chance to debate its considerable merits once more.

A Streetcar Named Desire runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL) through September 22, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.