The creative minds of Up in One Productions are at it again, returning to the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck for the next two weekends with a show that’s about as different from their last production there – the gloriously goofy Monty Python’s Spamalot – as could be imagined. Beginning this Friday, February 21, the barnlike theatre will host six performances of Tennessee Williams’ classic 1947 drama A Streetcar Named Desire. Doesn’t a mental visit to steamy New Orleans sound like an appealing break from the harsh winter weather?
The winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1948, Streetcar introduced to the American theatre the iconic character of the unstable, faux-genteel Southern belle Blanche Du Bois, who loses her ancestral plantation and moves in with her bullied sister Stella and coarse, domineering brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski. The original Broadway production made stars of Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy; Vivien Leigh won her second Best Actress Oscar when she took over the role of Blanche for the 1951 movie version.
The Up in One production of Streetcar is directed by Diana di Grandi. Deborah Coconis will play Blanche, Joshuah Patriarco Stanley, Emily DePew Stella and Kevin McCarthy Blanche’s bemused suitor Mitch. The set design is by Bill Ross, costumes by Donna Letteri and lighting design by Andy Weintraub.
Performances of A Streetcar Named Desire begin at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, February 21, 22, 28 and March 1, with matinées at 3 p.m. on Sundays, February 23 and March 2. Tickets go for $22 for adults, $20 for seniors and children and $15 for students with ID, and can be ordered at (845) 876-3080 or www.centerforperformingarts.org.
Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Friday/Saturday, February 21-22, 28-March 1, 8 p.m., Sunday, February 23 & March 2, 3 p.m., $22/$20/$15, Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, 661 Route 308, Rhinebeck; (845) 876-3080, www.centerforperformingarts.org.
Join the family! 
