Dream Cast Thursday! A Streetcar Named Desire

Sorry for the late posting. This week has been pretty hectic. This week's Dream Cast Thursday is A Streetcar Named Desire. The original play by Tennessee Williams was written in 1947. There have been many film adaptations (1951, 1984, 1995).

The original 1951 film kept the original Broadway cast (except for Jessica Tandy who was replaces by Vivien Leigh). I tried to look at all of them when making my choices.

The first character that I recast was Blanche DuBois. This was hard for me. In my mind, I have such a clear picture of who she is. She has been played by Vivien Leigh, Ann-Margret, and Jessica Lange. For my adaptation, I chose Julia Roberts.

The second character that I recast was Stanley Kowalski. He has been played by Marlon Brando, Treat Williams, and Alec Baldwin. For my adaptation, I cast Desmond Harrington.

The last character that I recast was Stella Kowalski. This was probably the easiest character of the three to cast. Once the other ones were chosen, she just seemed right. She has been played by Kim Hunter, Beverly D'Angelo, and Diane Lane. For my adaptation, I cast Rachel McAdams.

So what do you all think? Have you read or seen the play? What adaptations are your favorites? Who would be in yours?

Suddenly, Last Summer

I just saw Suddenly, Last Summer for the first time. I really enjoyed watching it. I didn't really know anything about the film or the story, but had pretty high expectations. I have really loved every other film that I have seen that has been based on a Tennessee Williams' play (except perhaps the Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone).

 I thought that Katherine Hepburn was really good. Montgomery Clift was okay, but it really wasn't a role meant to showcase one's acting abilities. The person that I was really blown away by was Elizabeth Taylor. I have seen her in so many really good roles and honestly thought that at this point it would be impossible to be really surprised and blown away by her, but I was. She was absolutely amazing.

As could be expected, the dialogue was also amazing. This might be my favorite Tennessee Williams script so far (though I tend to change my mind a lot). The way he creates phrases is so poetically southern and so wonderfully exaggerated and dramatic. One of my favorite quotes was when Mrs. Venable said, "My son, Sebastian and I constructed our days. Each day. We would carve each day like a piece of sculpture, leaving behind us a trail of days like a gallery of days until suddenly, last summer."

After I watched it, I became really interested in other adaptations. I found two adaptations in particular that I found to be really interesting. The first adaptation was a made-for-television movie of Suddenly, Last Summer that came out in 1993. It stars Maggie Smith as Violet Venable, Rob Lowe as Dr. Cukrowicz, and Natasha Richardson as Catherine Holly. The second adaptation that I found interesting was a 2006 stage production of Suddenly, Last Summer starring Blythe Danner as Violet Venable, Gale Harold as Dr. Cukrowicz, and Carla Gugino as Catherine Holly. This will definitely be making an appearance in a future installment of Dream Cast Thursday. This film is definitely a must-see!