Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire

This first continuous history of the play surveys major productions and transformations into ballet, film, television, and opera.

Philip C. Kolin (Author)

9780521626101, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 27 April 2000

252 pages, 11 b/w illus.
21.7 x 13.9 x 1.7 cm, 0.357 kg

'Kolin's argument is most convincing regarding Streetcar's 'sustaining power and protean magic', for he sophicatedly analyzes a wealth of Streetcar productions, revisions, revivals and 'radicalizations' since its 1947 debut.' Theatre History Studies

One of the most important plays of the twentieth century, A Streetcar Named Desire revolutionised the modern stage. This book offers the first continuous history of the play in production from 1947 to 1998 with an emphasis on the collaborative achievement of Tennessee Williams, Elia Kazan, and Jo Mielziner in the Broadway premiere. From there chapters survey major national premieres by the world's leading directors including those by Seki Sano (Mexico), Luchino Visconti (Italy), Ingmar Bergman (Sweden), Jean Cocteau (France ) and Laurence Olivier (England). Philip Kolin also evaluates key English-language revivals and assesses how the script evolved and adapted to cultural changes. Interpretations by Black and gay theatre companies also receive analyses and transformations into other media, such as ballet, film, television, and opera (premiered in 1998) form an important part of the overall study.

List of illustrations
General preface
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. A Streetcar Named Desire - The Broadway premiere and beyond
2. Streetcar on the world stage: the national premieres, 1948–1953
3. Streetcar revivals on the English-language stage
4. Recasting the players: expanding and radicalizing the Streetcar script
5. Streetcar in other media
Selective production chronology
Notes
Selective bibliography of criticism of Streetcar
Index.

Subject Areas: Theatre studies [AN]