Sex and the City" star Kim Cattrall is "all but a done deal" to play the emotionally unstable Blanche DuBois in a new Broadway revival of the Tennessee Williams' classic A Streetcar Named Desire, according to a spokesperson for Dream Street Theatrical Group, which seeks to produce the revival in early fall. As reported by Variety, Peter Hall will direct the drama, with John Dino making his Broadway debut in the star-making role of Stanley.
Elisabeth Shue will likely play Stanley's wife, Stella (though sources close to the production say the pregnant actress probably won't make a definitive commitment until her baby is born). Once the leads are cast, the producers will then begin approaching secondary performers, though Dream Street spokesperson Laurel Kiefaber confirmed Feb. 15 that Oliver Platt and Michael Rapaport have both had discussions about playing Mitch and that Bill Dudley has been approached to do the set if his schedule permits.
Because the three stars would be signed for only six months, Streetcar will open cold in New York, with rehearsals set to begin just after Labor Day. "The show is likely for a Jujamcyn theatre," Kiefaber told Playbill On-Line. "I know they're interested in the Virginia, depending on what happens with King Hedley II." A Los Angeles engagement is also planned for the play.
Producer Jerry Greenberg, who formed Dream Street Theatrical Group, spent years in the record business, including stints as president of both Atlantic Records and then Sony/MJJ. Recent months saw him form Mirage Music Entertainment (with the Mirage Records label), the umbrella company for Dream Street Theatrical Group. Spokesperson Kiefaber confirmed that Greenberg is in talks with Jerry Frankel and Fox Theatricals to co-produce Streetcar.
Director Hall's credits include this season's epic Tantalus at the Denver Center, as well as a Romeo and Juliet currently at the Ahmanson in L.A. Actress Cattrall plays the sexually uninhibited Samatha on "Sex and the City," an HBO series that also stars theatre veterans Sarah Jessica Parker (Sylvia, How to Succeed...) and Cynthia Nixon (The Country Club, June Moon).
Shue, best known for her role in the film "Leaving Las Vegas," would play Stella, the New Orleans wife in sexual thrall to her husband, the bestial, blue collar Stanley. Dino, a Hall protégé, will play the latter role. In fact, he already did; Dino apparently came to Hall's attention when he played Stanley in a well-received, 1997 Streetcar done at Florida's Hippodrome Theatre (a favorite venue for Williams when the author was still alive).
Streetcar is Williams' best-known play. Its original landmark production, directed by Elia Kazan, starred Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy and Kim Hunter. The most recent Broadway revival starred Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange. Other Williams plays include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie and The Rose Tattoo.
—By Robert Simonson
and David Lefkowitz
