Cole McFarren, Michael Hernandez, Jeremy Mahr, Tabitha Oles, Mark Garden, Esteban Lopez, Kate Farence, Leslie Day, and Mattie Gelaude in “A Streetcar Named Desire" at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre -- September 13 through 22. (photo by Jesse Mohr)
Friday, September 13, through Sunday, September 22
Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL
A Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner that stands as one of the most revered plays in theatrical history, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire rolls into the Playcrafters Barn Theatre from September 13 through 22, this fierce, funny, and tragic work enjoying its first staging at the Moline venue in more than 50 years.
In Williams' iconic drama, former schoolteacher Blanche DuBois arrives in New Orleans and takes a streetcar named “Desire” to the French Quarter, where her sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski live. Blanche's affectations of refinement set her immediately at odds with blue-collar Stanley, who is further incensed when he learns that his wife's aristocratic inheritance, the family estate, has been forfeited to creditors. Believing that Blanche sold the estate for personal profit and is swindling Stella and Stanley from sharing in the proceeds, Stanley disdains and demeans Blanche, who fights back in the only way she knows: with her genteel femininity. The Kowalskis' Elysian Fields apartment consequently becomes a pressure cooker of sensuality and class tensions, ultimately erupting in some of the most powerful and memorable moments in American theatre.
Directing A Streetcar Named Desire for Playcrafters is venue veteran and Reader employee Mike Schulz, who staged 12 Angry Jurors at the Barn Theatre in 2022, and previously directed Waiting for Gotot for the Black Box Theatre and Venus in Fur for the QC Theatre Workshop. Making her Playcrafters debut, and portraying Branche DuBois, is Kate Farence, whose recent area credits include Genesius Guild's Julius Caesar and the New Athens Players' Spotlight on Susan Glaspell. Cole McFarren (Genesius Guild's Othello) portrays Stanley Kowalski, Leslie Day (Playcrafters' The House of Blue Leaves) plays Stella Kowalski, and Jeremy Mahr (the Spotlight Theatre's Ripcord) is Blanche's suitor Harold “Mitch” Mitchell, with the ensemble completed by Drew DeKeyrel, Mark Garden, Mattie Gelaude, Michael Hernandez, Reader theatre reviewer Kitty Israel (weekend two), Esteban Lopez, Tabitha Oles (weekend one), and Cindy Ramos. And with Milo Houdyshell serving as stage manager, additional members of Streetcar's creative team include producer, sound/lighting designer, and Reader theatre reviewer Alexander Richardson; costume designer Lora Adams; fight choreographer and intimacy coordinator Lily Blouin; and board operator Jennifer Kingry.
A Streetcar Named Desire runs from September 13 through 22, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $13-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
