Performances drive KSU’s ‘Streetcar’

By Guy D’Astolfo

CHAMPION — Kent-Trumbull Theater’s production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” lays bare the full power of this highly charged classic American drama.

Brilliant performances are turned in by New York actress Pamela Wilterdink, who is a native of Cortland, as Blanche DuBois; and also Tom and Amy Burd, who play Stanley and Stella Kowalski (Blanche’s brother-in-law and sister).

The professional-caliber play opened Friday.

If you have only seen the 1951 Marlon Brando movie, you should definitely catch Kent-Trumbull’s version, as the smooth dialogue and very real portrayals of these characters are in noticeable contrast to the film.

This production is certainly one of the highlights of the Mahoning Valley theater season; folks from Youngstown and its immediate suburbs should use this as an opportunity to introduce themselves to Kent-Trumbull, which is footsteps away from the Mahoning Avenue (Warren) exit of state Route 82.

Wilterdink studied the role with screen and stage actor Austin Pendleton, an expert on the playwright, Tennessee Williams. With his help, Wilterdink has gained complete understanding of Blanche, and it shows in her every movement.

Wilterdink lends so much humanity to Blanche that you cannot help but feel sympathy for the character and even worry about her.

With a white summer dress and red high heels, Wilterdink cuts an image of a fragile but beautiful bird, and one who, alas, cannot handle all of life’s blows.

Wilterdink’s Blanche is fussy and maybe a tad peculiar; and of course, her personality is colored by alcoholism and her fears. She is mentally delicate but also flirty and charming. The portrayal is deeply human, and the dialogue is amazingly natural — so much so that it might surprise some who are unfamiliar with the stage play.

It’s not until the end of the play that Blanche becomes unhinged, her neuroses overwhelming her.

Wilterdink’s performance is riveting.

But so is that of Tom Burd as Stanley, the hard-drinking poker-player.

Blanche, who has played her last card in her Mississippi hometown, comes to New Orleans to live with her sister and Stanley. But Stanley’s gruffness and intolerance for frivolity makes him a dead opposite for the vain Blanche, who has the bearing of a Southern Belle.

Burd starts off slow, demonstrating the type of man who could attract the eye of Stella, who is a plain, girl-next-door type and a far sturdier woman than her sister.

But Burd’s early subdued behavior heightens the effect when his outbursts do arrive. When he explodes in rage, he has the intensity and focus of a thundercrack.

Amy Burd’s Stella is a duster-wearing housewife, fully accepting of, and in love with, her husband, despite his drinking and violence. She is the baseline character, against whom the others are measured.

Joseph Toto plays Harold Mitchell, Stanley’s lonely friend, who takes a liking to Blanche. Toto’s role isn’t one of the major ones, but it is important, and he imbues it with so much openness that the character might remind you of someone you know.

(It should be noted that, though this is a production of a university campus, none of the lead roles is played by a student.)

Daniel-Raymond Nadon is the director and deserves credit not only for having the guts to stage this complex and volatile play, but also for doing it justice. One memorable scene-ending has a cigarette being lighted on the dark street, then just the match flame, then darkness.

Robert Katkowsky’s scenic design also plays a huge role in the show’s success. His set, surrounded by the comfortable stadium-style seating of Kent-Trumbull’s black box theater, is among the best of the season, and it merits a full description.

The dingy redbrick walls of a two-story apartment building are fronted by a circular iron staircase with an ornate railing that leads up to a second-floor door — the apartment of the Kowalskis’ friends. Bare lightbulbs provide the light, casting a sickly yellow glow.

Below, a beggar woman silently pauses from time to time amid the shadows and walks the black street, paved with blocks. It’s on these blocks that Stanley, on his knees, looks up for his wife and cries out “Stella,” recapturing a scene that has long been chiseled into the canon of American drama.

The fading elegance of the set is a metaphor for Blanche and maybe even for the unraveling of American innocence in the post-World War II years.

To the right of the apartment building is the two-room flat of Stanley and Stella. Red bricks are given cut-away treatment, giving the impression that the audience is peering into a private scene. The apartment itself is dingy and yellowed and somehow manages to exude the humidity of August in New Orleans. One also gets the sense of what it’s like to live in a crowded tenement, in close proximity to so many others, who may be sleeping, eating, laughing, drinking or making love at any given time. Privacy is a luxury.

It is rare that lighting is done so well on a community theater level that it is noticeable, but that is the case here. The shadows on the walls in the final scene are foreboding and memorable. Jim Lybarger designed the lighting.

“Streetcar” is three hours long, with two intermissions.

One final note to Kent-Trumbull Theater: your popcorn is delicious. But please don’t let patrons bring it into the theater after intermission. It’s way too noisy.

X“A Streetcar Named Desire” will be presented at 3 p.m. today; and 8 p.m. March 20 and 21, and 3 p.m. March 22. Call (330) 675-8887 for tickets.