In the summer of 1947, Tennessee Williams was on the cusp of eminent success at age 36. Two years prior, his memory play, “The Glass Menagerie,” was a surprise hit on Broadway. His new work, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” directed by the illustrious Elia Kazan, was slated to feature Hollywood star John Garfield as the rude, hotheaded Stanley Kowalski and Jessica Tandy as Blanche DuBois, the fragile, fallen schoolmarm. The promising production was Broadway bound.
But there was a serious wrinkle in the plan. Kazan had discovered a fresh, raw talent named Marlon Brando. Williams agreed to let Brando read for the Kowalski role, despite his being far too young, as a favor to Kazan. The catch was Brando had to schlep all the way from New York City to Williams’s cottage in Provincetown for the audition.
This pivotal scenario is artfully envisioned in “Kowalski,” a fact-based, albeit fanciful drama written by Gregg Ostrin about the night Williams was forced to decide whether Brando indeed had the right stuff to portray Kowalski. And while we are well aware of the final outcome, the escalating clash of wits and wiles is a sight to behold.
It should surprise no one that “Kowalski” is meant to echo, though not mimic, a vintage Tennessee Williams drama. Although the plot has its share of bold twists, the piece focuses on nuanced character development. It is a memory play of sorts, framed by scenes from a 1977 television interview that finds “the most celebrated playwright in America” dissipated and bitter while recalling his first encounter with Brando.
True to form, the rebel actor hitchhiked from New York and showed up three days late, irking Williams so much that he refused to let him read for the part. Throughout the proceedings, we witness pretty-boy Brando try to persuade the playwright that he’s perfect for the role. He can exude pugnacity when given the chance. If Williams won’t allow a formal audition, Brando will orchestrate his own.
Much of the dramatic tension is drawn from the contrast in demeanor. Williams affects a somewhat effeminate manner (he owns up to being a “drunken queen”), speaking with a lilting artifice and smoking using a cigarette holder. Brando behaves like a brute, swiping a giant chicken leg from the fridge without his host’s permission. Williams calls him a “hulking, grunting slob.”
Under the keen direction of Colin Hanlon, the cast is first-rate. Brandon Flynn deftly evokes a 23-year-old Brando without lapsing into outright impersonation. The devilishly handsome actor, best known for his work on television shows like “13 Reasons Why” and “Ratched,” caused a stir when he married longtime boyfriend Jordan Tannahill last year in New York City, decked out in black leather.
Robin Lord Taylor (“Gotham,” “The Walking Dead”) lends a barbed charm to Williams. It’s a treat to watch him shift from gracious Southern gentleman to angry lion whenever Brando pushes his buttons.
“Well, aren’t you just the kind to take charge,” Williams says tauntingly, referring to Brando barking orders while he fixes the blown electrical fuses and clogged plumbing. Taylor works overtime to mesh the playwright’s genius with his insecurities.
Rounding out the cast are Alison Cimmet as Williams’s dear friend Margo, Sebastian Treviño as Williams’s swarthy live-in lover Pancho, and Ellie Ricker as Brando’s pliable travel companion Jo.
The backdrop of a shabby beach house with faulty electricity and plumbing amplifies the play’s emotional power. Greatly lifting the production is David Gallo’s exquisitely detailed set of the rumpled living room, with its faded floral-patterned wallpaper and clutter of tchotchkes and liquor bottles. He depicts the exterior as well, with its tranquil sand dunes and beach grass.
Balancing fiction with fact is no easy feat. Although “Kowalski” is inspired by an account in Kazan’s autobiography, Ostrin has admitted in interviews that the specific action in the play did not happen. He has insisted, however, that it could have happened. This enthralling production is utterly convincing in its emotional authenticity, if not factual veracity, which is beside the point.
“Kowalski” | The Duke on 42nd Street | New 42 Studios | 229 West 42nd Street, 2nd floor | $45–$140| kowalskionstage.com/ | Through February 23, 2025 | 85 min., no intermission
