Dispatches from Home – Happy Birthday, Mr. Williams!

March 26, 1911 – Happy Birthday, Mr. Williams! Some years ago, I was asked why I wanted to direct “A Streetcar Named Desire.” I told her it was because of the play’s characters and what made them honest and authentic. Mr. Williams saw into their souls and allowed us to see their pain, hope, and the essence of their being. They were everyday people: gritty, happy, sad, struggling, deluded, but most of all human. Much like the people we see every day, who perhaps hide behind a mask of self-doubt and festering feelings of fear, loneliness, and a longing for peace in their hearts and minds, wanting to cry out for help but fearing the consequences. Blanche delivers one of my favorite lines in Streetcar, “I don’t want reality, I want magic.” The characters in Streetcar portray reality, but in so doing, they also shower us with magic, the magic of theater, and the joy it brings.