Hilary Holbrook Jason Wisnewski Lauren Cerkiewicz Abigail Trabue Laura Sturm Mason Hill Alex Thompson Noe Jara Andrea Morales
Violinist Steve Eunice Stella Blanche Stanley Mitch Pablo Mexican Woman
 The Negro Woman The Young Collector |
by Tennessee WilliamsOctober 2 - November 15, 2009 |
 Kim Boler Michael Welles The Nurse The Doctor |
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Time Out Chicago Says: Four Stars!
“Williams's claustrophobic classic has been lampooned and adapted so many times it's now as much a shorthand for a certain strain of Southern experience as it is a play. Polarity opts for a faithful, straightforward revival, with whiskey nips and random acts of psychological violence intact. “As Blanche DuBois, Laura Sturm simultaneously shatters and fades, selling both camp madness and brutalized delicacy with the same aplomb. Refusing the invitation to overact Blanche's lush, pathetically poetic language, Sturm instead handles it with a deft touch, while Mason Hill imbues his Stanley with flat mook menace and unexpected comic timing. Abigail Trabue…watching agape as Stanley strips away Blanche's lily-white pretension, and the rest of the cast nicely summons the hivelike hum of a hot New Orleans summer. “The small Polarity space emphasizes the corseting tension of three people living on top of each other, but it's the offstage violin music of Blanche's demons that truly unsettles. It's an old song but still a chilling one.” -- Melissa Albert, Time Out Chicago "Polarity Ensemble Theatre is giving Williams' eternally popular "A Streetcar Named Desire" the kind of stick-to-your-ribs Chicago storefront revival that is mighty satisfying...a true star performance from Laura Sturm as Blanche...Sturm is mesmerizing." -- Joe Stead, SteadStyleChicago.com  Laura Sturm as Blanche – Chicago Reader “This Polarity Ensemble Theatre rendition of Tennessee Williams's 1947 masterpiece is solid… Focusing on the tense psychological triangle between faded southern belle Blanche duBois, her sister Stella, and Stella's brutish husband Stanley Kowalski, Williams's tragedy explores the fears of death and mental illness that haunted him. Under Ann Keen's direction, Laura Sturm captures Blanche's terror and desperation…The production's strongest scenes are those between Blanche and Stella (Abigail Trabue), who loves her sister but is increasingly frustrated and confused by Blanche's erratic behavior.” – Albert Williams, Chicago Reader Five Stars. “From start to finish this was a moving and powerful production. I highly recommend this show!!” – Time Out Chicago online, posted by C. Brown Five Stars. “My wife and I absolutely loved A Streetcar Named Desire. The performances are hauntingly powerful.” – Time Out Chicago online, posted by Michael Gorla |
 A Streetcar Named Desire ran at Polarity's space in the Josephinum Academy, 1500 N. Bell, Chicago from October 2 - November 15, 2009.  .Mason Hill and Abigail Trabue  Ann Keen, Director Kaily Anderson, Assistant Director Abigail Trabue, Production Manager Michelle Rossi, Stage Manager Eliot Scott, Assistant Stage Manager Kaitlyn Kearn, Costume Designer Ashley Ann Woods, Set Designer Stephanette Smith, Lighting Designer Alex Reimers, Technical Designer Joel Rosal, Props Designer Heath Hays, Sound Designer Mason Hill, Violence Choreographer Jason Epperson, Marketing/PR Ann Keen, Managing Director Richard Engling, Artistic Director  Alex Thompson, Mason Hill, Abigail Trabue, Noe Jara, Jason Wisnewski |
