Philip C. Kolin. Williams: a Streetcar Named Desire.

Publication: Comparative Drama

Publication Date: 22-JUN-01

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COPYRIGHT 2001 www.wmich.edu/compdr

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. xix + 229. $54.95.

The first observation that might be made of this volume of the Cambridge University Press Plays in Production is that the series editor landed the right person for A Streetcar Named Desire. Author Philip C. Kolin has written some twenty-five articles on this play and has edited the fine collection of original essays entitled Confronting Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire (1993). Kolin can certainly be acknowledged as a leading authority on Streetcar, and, since much of his Williams scholarship focuses on Streetcar's production history, his authorship for this volume may be regarded as a natural selection.

According to series editor Michael Robinson, the Cambridge series "takes major dramatic texts and examines their transposition, firstly onto the stage and secondly, where appropriate, into other media" (xiii). This structure allows for an inclusive chronology of Streetcar productions ranging from the Broadway premiere in 1947 to the 1998 Gate Theatre performance in Dublin. Instead of merely reconstructing the individual performances, however, Kolin emphasizes the cultural and theatrical dynamics that distinguish each production. Considered in this light,...

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