Theatre Calgary, in partnership with the Citadel Theatre (Edmonton), starts the new year with the sultry and gritty classic A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams.

Written in 1947, A Streetcar Named Desire is the story of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle, whose unexpected arrival in New Orleans sets in motion a dangerous power struggle between herself and her sister’s husband, Stanley. Tension builds as secrets about Stanley and Blanche are revealed and desires crescendo in this smouldering masterpiece.

Williams’ play made its Broadway debut in 1947, featuring Marlon Brando (Stanley), Jessica Tandy (Blanche), and Kim Hunter (Stella). It would then be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948, and in 1951, made into the acclaimed film starring Brando, Hunter, and Vivian Leigh (Blanche). Theatre Calgary has also staged the show on two previous occasions. The play was in both 1984 with Ed O’Neill (Stanley), Concetta Tomei (Blanche), and Melanie Miller (Stella), and again in 2002 with Tony Nappo (Stanley), Kate Newby (Blanche), and Tracey Ferencz (Stella).

This new 2025 production features familiar faces to Theatre Calgary with Stafford Perry (Stanley), Lindsey Angell (Blanche), and Heidi Damayo (Stella) taking on the iconic roles. Directing this production is the Citadel Theatre’s Artistic Director, Daryl Cloran. Daryl’s work was seen last season at Theatre Calgary in both Made in Italy and As You Like It.

“A Streetcar Named Desire is full of characters from different racial and economic backgrounds, struggling through difficult times, connected through their search for love,” says Cloran. “But Williams believes their desire to connect with one another faces a challenging obstacle.”

That obstacle was described by Tennessee Williams as the characters only truly seeing each other through the flaws of their own egos such as vanity, fear, desire, and competition. “The world is violent and mercurial – it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love,” Williams once said in a 1982 interview. “We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.”

“The characters in A Streetcar Named Desire are caught in their own distorted perceptions, often trying to disguise the truth,” describes Cloran. “At one point Blanche pleas ‘I don’t want realism. I want magic!’ This script offers us a chance to consider how we can strip away the additional layers of fear and ego to see each other clearly and truly love each other.”

Image (L to R): Stafford Perry, Heidi Damayo, Lindsey Angell in A Streetcar Named Desire. (Photo: Nanc Price)

In addition to Perry, Angell, and Damayo, Cloran has brought together a cast that includes Daniel Briere, Sheldon Elter, Emily Howard, Elisa Marina Mair-Sánchez, Kaitlyn Morishita, Ahmed Mokdad, Andrés F. Moreno, and Eric Wigston. The creative team consists of Brian Dudkiewicz (sets & props), Jessica Oostergo (costumes), Bonnie Beecher (lighting), Joelysa Pankanea (sound design & composition), Morgan Yamada (fights & intimacy), Lana Michelle Hughes (assistant director), Jane MacFarlane (voice & dialect), and Ainsley Hillyard (choreographer). The stage management team includes Kennedy Greene (SM), Meredith Johnson (ASM), and Marlo Hepburn (AppSM).

Presented in partnership with the Citadel Theatre, A Streetcar Named Desire runs at Theatre Calgary from January 28 - February 23 in the Arts Commons Max Bell Theatre. As part of Theatre Calgary’s ‘Theatre For All’ initiative, all main floor tickets are just $44 for regular performances, and can be purchased online at theatrecalgary.com. The show is recommended for ages 16 and older.

Header image (L to R): Stafford Perry, Lindsey Angell, Heidi Damayo in A Streetcar Named Desire. (Photo: Nanc Price)