I realize that these commentaries should not try to answer to previously written ones. Those things should be reserved for the message boards. But I simply have to answer to some kind of general consensus, that I have no idea where some of the people writing these reviews get their ideas from. I am appalled that someone was looking for more sex and violence. That was not in the intention or the writing of Tennessee Williams. 'Nuf said.
I think that this production was so very fine. I saw Diane Lane bring a quality to Stella that no one else ever has. You can read her feelings on her face. How torn she is between her love for Stanley and the remembrances of a loving older sister. AND she is beautiful. She is everything that makes us understand that Stanley really couldn't stand to lose her. And Alec Baldwin as Stanley brought a humanity to his portrayal that others, even the famed Brando, did not...it is called REALITY. He was real. Baldwin was not the stereotype that Blanche wanted to convince Stella that he was. It was true that he knew the seamier side of life, so he recognized that part of Blanche that was, indeed, the fallen woman.[And, by the way, his accent was meant to be from New York, not the South.] But I also could see his very real pain of being talked down by Blanche, the fear of losing Stella because of Blanche trying to pull her away from him. Yes, he does turn mean and uncaring, which Stella especially can not understand. But he does so because Blanche is threatening his entire life, and the love of his life. So, he fights back. I have seen the '49 movie many times, and several staged productions, and have memorized and done scenes from the play myself. I have never seen anyone play Stanley with the pain, and the fear that Baldwin brought to the part.
I thought that John Goodman did a remarkable turn in the role of Mitch. If others couldn't get the comedy of his TV role out of their minds, I don't credit that to a fault in Goodman, but a fault in the viewer. Blanche was once beautiful and still was very attractive, but as she says "played out". She wasn't looking for a "beautiful boy" any more, even though her closing in insanity drew her that way. She was looking for a safe cleft in the rock in which she could hide. Goodman played Mitch as gentle, and caring and concerned about his looks not being up to the standards of someone like the Blanche that he perceived.
I felt that Jessica Lange was the one person that had seen the old movie, and Vivian Leigh's performance too much. Her accent was just like Leigh's. But she was good. She also won an Emmy for Best Actress for that performance if memory serves. But the two performances that just made me weep were Baldwin's and Lane's. Lane as Stella says to Stanley, "You didn't see her when she was young, no one was as trusting as Blanche." and I felt every word. But when Diane Lane cries at the end with such depth of anguish, I said to myself, that I would just watch and wait for her to win an Oscar. [I know, I'm still waiting, but she will, one of these days] She is the real thing, boys and girls. That woman is not only beautiful, but she can act circles around the lot of them. Her casting made Stella into a very real person. And I totally believed the love that she and Stanley had for each other. I can not say the same for Kim Hunter who did win an Oscar for her portrayal of the same part.
I have long loved this play. We can not help but love the old movie. But this production tears my heart out.
