Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece, A Streetcar Named Desire, is about a torrid romantic triangle set in 1940’s New Orleans.

The St. Andrews production runs October 23 and 24th at 7:30. General Admission is $6.

The immortal, fragile Southern Belle Blanche DuBois arrives at her sister Stella’s French Quarter row house. Here she encounters the sensual, sweat-stained Stanley Kowalski. Passions erupt and lives hang in the balance when genteel Southern culture collides with frustrated, roiling urban desire. Blanche tries to navigate the steamy waters with delusions of grandeur, intellectual snobbery, buoying herself up with gaudy dreams, and covering up things that are dingy with things that are bright but illusory.

The role of Blanche Dubois is both an actresses dream and nightmare: A dream as it is a leading role of celebrated proportions, yet a nightmare as the character of Blanche is hardly ever off the stage, and when she is on stage she is almost continuous talking-chattering, dreaming aloud, wondering, and building enchantments out of words. Greta Friesen ‘s performance is exceedingly true and it most incredible that she, at her young college age, could understand such an elusive part so thoroughly and can convey it with shades and impulses that are accurate, revealing and true.

The surprise of the evening was Charles Abernathy, an Asian Arts Major, who played the quick-tempered, scornful, violent mechanic Stanley Kowalski. Abernathy filled the role with the right muscular swagger, surface brutishness and sense of his own worth. The chemistry between Stanley and Stella was electrifying as was his disdain for Blanche relentlessly alarming. Many seasons actors strive to give such a convincing performance. Abernathy also received impeccable support from Stella, played by Alexandra King. King was almost too beautiful to play the part of Stella but the swing between her lust for Stanley and compassion for her sister was played with true believability.

The rest of the acting is also of quality with novice actor Carl Floor playing Mitch as a stupid but wondering suitor with good understanding. One would never know he had never been in a production before. Andrew Roberto, Randy Hernandez and Taylor Goes were also strong in their supporting roles.

Set designer Ken Connor has provided a beautifully lighted single setting that lightly sketches the house and the neighborhood at a slight diagonal. In this shadowy environment the performance is a work of great beauty and totally unexpected from the challenging stage space of the theatre.

Under Professor Mark T. Mannette’s sensitive but concrete direction this classic play by Tennessee Williams came to rugged life with visual intrigues, well developed character relationships and a perpetual flow make one forget the true length of the play. Amidst the challenges of an antiquated light board, tricky sound system and lack of wing space, Mannette magically turned the little theatre into the steamy Faubourg Marigny district in New Orleans in a way that would put larger colleges to shame. St. Andrews is lucky to have such a gifted theater generalist in their midst as he shows mastership in all avenues of production.

The play is long but Tennessee Williams is entitled to his own independence as his classic play reminds us that human beings are the basic subject of art. Out of poetic imagination and ordinary compassion he has spun a poignant and luminous story. The cast and crew of St. Andrews College did Mr. Williams proud.

Paschal is an assistant professor at Fayetteville State University