"A Streetcar Named Desire" Absolutely Neurotic
As someone who became a theatre kid at a fairly late age, I had always heard of A Streetcar Named Desire, and understood that both it, and by extension Tennessee Williams, had some important role in the history of theatre. Specifically, I first remember hearing it in the Panic! At the Disco song, Memories, and since then I began to grow this idea that perhaps it was a love story, an overall sad one, but one for the ages, and with a cute name to boot. Sadly, or perhaps happily depending on your point of view, I have to report that my assumptions were wrong, and I couldn't have been more impressed by this play if it tried.
Personally, as someone who had to read a lot of plays during high school I think something that many plays lacked was the ability to be read as a play rather than performed. Like if one were to ask high school students what they enjoyed least, it would be Shakespeare, and for good reason, as it was meant to be performed, and without many of the visual cues that come from performance, can be confusing to no avail. This is only compounded by the fact that teachers tend to piece out these plays bit by bit, frankly killing any sort of momentum that would typically be built when watching a play in one sitting.
Luckily, A Streetcar Named Desire does not have any of those issues, and at a measly 100 pages, is a very digestible classic, that still holds up this day. In fact, one of the most notable things that stood out to me was the writing, especially with the character Blanche, as Williams does a masterful job of capturing her spiraling personality. I mean many times while reading this play I felt as if I was speedreading, not because I was bored, but rather because the characters words are written in a way that almost encourages the reader to spiral along with Blanche.
However, that's not the only area where the writing shines, as I really enjoyed the blossoming relationship between Mitch and Blanche, finding it oddly cute compared to most plays I read. Despite being simplistic in terms of how much actually occurs during the story, I really enjoyed this play and was able to basically finish it in one sitting, which sometimes proves to be difficult with older plays where I oftentimes find that it drags on for too long, but no scene felt like filler in my eyes.
Final Score: 78/100
Overall, I really enjoyed A Streetcar Named Desire and I now understand why it is often cited as one of the greatest plays of all time. While I was slightly disappointed at the morbid ending, it really did leave me hanging every step of the way, and for a play to do that without even being realized on the stage, is an accomplishment in my eyes. If I was a teacher and I had to give a play to my students to read, compared to other classics, A Streetcar Named Desire definitely lives up to its reputation.
Personally, as someone who had to read a lot of plays during high school I think something that many plays lacked was the ability to be read as a play rather than performed. Like if one were to ask high school students what they enjoyed least, it would be Shakespeare, and for good reason, as it was meant to be performed, and without many of the visual cues that come from performance, can be confusing to no avail. This is only compounded by the fact that teachers tend to piece out these plays bit by bit, frankly killing any sort of momentum that would typically be built when watching a play in one sitting.
Luckily, A Streetcar Named Desire does not have any of those issues, and at a measly 100 pages, is a very digestible classic, that still holds up this day. In fact, one of the most notable things that stood out to me was the writing, especially with the character Blanche, as Williams does a masterful job of capturing her spiraling personality. I mean many times while reading this play I felt as if I was speedreading, not because I was bored, but rather because the characters words are written in a way that almost encourages the reader to spiral along with Blanche.
However, that's not the only area where the writing shines, as I really enjoyed the blossoming relationship between Mitch and Blanche, finding it oddly cute compared to most plays I read. Despite being simplistic in terms of how much actually occurs during the story, I really enjoyed this play and was able to basically finish it in one sitting, which sometimes proves to be difficult with older plays where I oftentimes find that it drags on for too long, but no scene felt like filler in my eyes.
Final Score: 78/100
Overall, I really enjoyed A Streetcar Named Desire and I now understand why it is often cited as one of the greatest plays of all time. While I was slightly disappointed at the morbid ending, it really did leave me hanging every step of the way, and for a play to do that without even being realized on the stage, is an accomplishment in my eyes. If I was a teacher and I had to give a play to my students to read, compared to other classics, A Streetcar Named Desire definitely lives up to its reputation.
Comments
Post a Comment