Paul Mescal is having a moment. After soulful turns in indie films such as “Aftersun” and “All of Us Strangers” (where he bared all as a tormented gay man opposite Andrew Scott), the 29-year-old Irish actor defied expectations as the vengeful, muscle-bound hero in “Gladiator II,” last fall’s epic blockbuster. His debut stint in December hosting Saturday Night Live garnered raves. He is also slated to star in the hotly anticipated film version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along.”
In the meantime, you can now catch the versatile actor at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Tennessee Williams’ 1947 masterwork about a fraught family visit in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The production, directed by Rebecca Frecknall, had triumphant runs in London’s West End, and Mescal won the Olivier Award for best actor. This is his New York stage debut.
Mescal does not disappoint. His Stanley is every bit as brooding and brutish as we’ve come to expect from one of Williams’ most indelible characters. It doesn’t hurt that he has maintained his imposing gladiator physique, and shucks off his shirt more than once. The key to mastering the half-man, half-beast Stanley is to balance the swagger with glimmers of vulnerability, and Mescal does this effortlessly.
Not that the rest of the ensemble, imported from the London production, isn’t also affecting. Patsy Ferran lends a desperate fragility to the nervous, alcoholic Blanche DuBois, who shows up unannounced at her younger sister Stella’s doorstep to escape a secret, sordid past in Mississippi. Ferran’s Blanche is a toxic brew of haughtiness, vanity, bitterness, and shame.
As Stella, Anjana Vasan deftly navigates the sharp conflict between love for her needy sister and love for her egomaniacal husband, who resents that Blanche is a delusional liar who has invaded their home. Dwane Walcott imbues Mitch, Stanley’s poker buddy and Blanche’s potential suitor, with a forceful dignity that makes us root for him against all odds.
Whenever a beloved classic is revived onstage, it begs the question, “What new insights are revealed?” Frecknall has devised fresh innovations. The traditional realistic set has been jettisoned by designer Madeleine Girling in favor of a large, stark square platform, which suggests a boxing ring. There are scant props — a couple of chairs, a radio, and a few bottles of liquor. The men manage to play poker without a table. A waterworks system releases a heavy rain shower at key moments, amping up the emotional intensity.
What’s more, the late 1940’s time period has been de-emphasized, implying a more universal experience. The costumes, by Merle Hensel, are a mix of styles. The women wear dresses that would not feel out of place today. Stanley’s white “wife beater” undershirt, popularized in the celebrated 1951 film starring Marlon Brando, is replaced by a sort of loose-fitting cropped tunic. That top, and his loungey ankle-baring pants, could easily be worn at a modern, high-end spa. The ensemble’s costumes are color coordinated, with burnt rust as the predominant hue.
That’s not to say that all flourishes succeed. The percussionist, perched on a mezzanine onstage, is unnecessary and intrusive. The amplification was so loud, it not only drowned out dialogue, but I could actually feel the discomfiting sonic vibrations. A lithe dancer, representing Blanche’s fine-featured young husband who turned out to be a “degenerate” homosexual and took his own life, makes the occasional appearance, interfering with the main action.
Towards the play’s climax, Blanche, well into emotional collapse, tells Mitch, “I don’t want realism. I want magic!” Indeed, Williams tends to elevate his dramas with ample doses of poetry, and Frecknall has taken this sentiment to heart with her progressive, surrealistic staging, the dramaturgical equivalent to Blanche adorning a bare light bulb with a colored paper lantern. While some elements don’t quite jibe, the overall results are sensational.
“A Streetcar Named Desire” | BAM Harvey Theater | 651 Fulton St. | $184-$435 | Through April 6, 2025 | Two hrs., 45 min., one intermission
