A subway car named Desire

You know when you have an event, but you're tired and cranky and it's the last thing you want to do that particular day? I was like that Friday. But I knew I'd later regret forever if I didn't go to see Gillian Anderson in Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning A Streetcar Named Desire at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn.

Streetcar had an acclaimed run in England in 2014, and Gillian got incredible notices for her turn as Blanche DuBois. The world knows her best as Special Agent Dana Scully from The X-Files, and she showed her chops on that show, but she's also given incredible performances in classic fare such as The House of Mirth and Great Expectations as well as in the British series The Fall in the ensuing years.

So it was really something I needed to see. I got my butt in gear and trained into the city and then rode the subway to St. Ann's, scenically located under the Brooklyn Bridge. It's an intimate venue, there were only two rows on my side of the stage. At times, the actors were so close in proximity, I felt like I was part of the scene.

The set itself was a very sparse rectangle -- no walls, just a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom with a stairway just off the front door. The faucets run, the toilets mock flush. And it rotated -- for most of the show, that sucker was moving. And sometimes it works to your benefit. A number of key scenes were played right in front of me. In some others, I watched backs and just listened to the performances. That might not sound ideal on paper, but it really takes it to another level, making you experience it with other senses besides your eyes.

This interpretation of Streetcar gets a bit of a modern update in places. For example, Blanche's suitcase is a modern-day variation with wheels and music like PJ Harvey's "To Bring You My Love" and Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" is used liberally during fades between scenes. But it doesn't come off as jarring at any point, unless you're a purist about that kind of thing.

Now the biggest and best compliment I have for Gillian Anderson is that there is no semblance of Gillian Anderson in the performance. She looks like her, and maybe more like her than any other character I have seen her play. The Southern accent was right on, it didn't waver and it was delivered with great strength and precise intonation. Despite the pathos in most of what Blanche has to say, Gillian tapped the humor of the lines, more than occasionally giving the audience a chance to blow off some steam. When she herself laughed, it didn't sound like the giggle we associate with Gillian, it was pure Blanche. Even when she's just watching others, she transfixes the audience. And we didn't "see" Gillian until the bows. It was perfect. Flawless.

Frankly, I don't know how she does it. Actors clearly aren't like the rest of us. Seven days a week, eight performances, she stands on a rotating stage in very high heels and gets herself to the most emotional places. It's a roller-coaster ride for Blanche, and us, in the process.

Ben Foster more than holds his own opposite her as neanderthalic Stanley Kowalski. Now Ben, I know him from teen fare ranging from Freaks and Geeks to Get Over It and he's always been an affable talent to me. As Stanley, he's buff and he's a man. Just like Gillian, he completely disappeared into the role. I was very much knocked out by him.

British actress Vanessa Kirby also gave a very fine performance as Stellllllllllllla. Except for one small part in an emotional part of the denouement, all I heard was the long-suffering sister/wife's voice. I didn't know of her before, now I look forward to seeing her in other avenues. The same holds true for Corey Johnson, quite endearing but not overly sappy for the appropriate amount of time as Mitch.

Before the show, I talked with some people who had already seen it. Kate from Melbourne, Australia had journeyed all the way to New York City just to see Gillian in the run. She wanted to watch the show from another viewpoint in the audience, and she ended up sitting next to me. Two other women had seen it the previous night, but felt compelled to come back right away.

After seeing it, I knew how they felt. I wanted to take it all in from a different place in the audience. I wanted to watch it with actor friends to get their takes on it. I wanted to see the cast do what seems so impossible -- just to be at that level of emotion throughout a three-hour, 20-minute show with very little letdown. I just wanted to be drawn in all over again.

So obviously I made the right choice to get off my keister and go to St. Ann's. (Oh yeah, I also want to see other productions there too.)