A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

To listen to this riveting performance, recorded live at Lincoln Center in 1973, is a revelation. It takes the listener right to the heart of what makes Tennessee Williams's 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play a literary icon—the words, every last word. From the lilting sounds of Blanche DuBois's fragile and flighty poetic visions to the staccato tones of Stanley Kowalski's streetwise poker games, the performances weave image after image. There are few histrionics in Rosemary Harris, James Farentino, and Patricia Conolly's naturalistic portrayals of Blanche, Stanley, and Stella. Their vocal choices make the play’s final scenes sound all the more credible, and devastating. A classic performance of an American classic. B.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2009]