‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Review: Paul Mescal Is Explosive in Rebecca Frecknall’s Staggering Revival

“I don’t want realism. I want magic!” Blanche’s famously desperate cry holds the key to most approaches to “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Productions of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece tend to chose one or the other: overemphasizing the sweat and grit of life with the Kowalskis or slavishly obeying Williams’s instructions to deliver Blanche’s tragic, hope-filled reverie. But director Rebecca Frecknall’s hypnotic production goes for broke, slinging out almost all of Williams’ stage directions and simultaneously delivering both. With Patsy Ferran and Paul Mescal in incandescent form, she brings the classic roaring back to electrifying life. Williams’s carefully detailed, literal two-room apartment… Read Full Article