Gulfshore Playhouse To Present Tennessee Williams' Classic A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Gulfshore Playhouse to Present Tennessee Williams Classic A Streetcar Named Desire

Gulfshore Playhouse will present the Tennessee Williams classic A Streetcar Named Desire April 6 through 22, with a preview performance April 5.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire follows the story of Blanche DuBois, a weak and disturbed woman on a desperate prowl for some place in the world to call her own. After losing their ancestral home, Belle Reve, Blanche shows up at the doorstep of her sister, Stella, in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Putting on airs of refinement and Southern gentility, Blanche tries to impress her brother-in-law, and his gentle, good-natured friend, Mitch. Seeking to escape from reality, and an emblem of a lost traditional South, Blanche becomes a victim of the harsh present. Marlon Brando starred in the Broadway production and the 4-time Academy Award-winning film adaptation. This will mark the 65th Anniversary of this enduring Tennessee Williams classic.

Founder and Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury will direct the production. “Streetcar is such a pleasure to work on for the stage. A blend of fantastic actors, and an enduring script as well as lush scenic, light and sound design create an artistic landscape that will embrace the audience in a bygone era. I especially enjoy bringing our beloved classics to life,” says Kristen.

Claire Brownell will be playing Blanche DuBois. Claire has previously been seen on Broadway and the National Tour of Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Other productions include Boeing Boeing at Hartford Stage, Wonder of the World (The Children’s Theatre Company), Dirge (Ohio Theater) Powerful Voices, An Ideal Husband (Shakespeare Theatre Company DC), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare on the Sound), A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater), Bring Love to my Doorstep (Guthrie Studio Theater) and Twelfth Night (Montana Shakespeare Company). Claire is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theater MFA program and received her BA from Carroll College in Helena, MT.

Stanley Kowalski will be played by Adam McNulty. Adam’s previous credits include All's Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare in the Park), Point of Departure, Skype Duet (Smoke and Mirrors Collaboration). His regional theatre credits include Ragtime, The Pendragon, and The Madness of Edgar Allen Poe. Adam has also appeared on film in Shilo, The Pilgrim and the Private Eye and Morning Interior and on TV in The Good Wife and Unforgettable. Adam is a graduate of the NYU Graduate Acting Program.

Gwen Ellis will portray Stella Kowalski. She was most recently seen in Arcane Game, the debut work of United Broadcasting Theater Company. NYC theatre credits include The Lady's Not For Burning (Parenthesis Theatre Company), Tiny Geniuses (NYC Fringe). Regional theatre credits include Heist!(34th Humana Play Festival), A Midsummer Night's Dream, and A Christmas Carol, all at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. Gwen is a graduate of Vassar College.

Jed Aicher will play Harold Mitchell. Jed is a graduate of Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory. He was most recently seen as Archidamus in The Winter's Tale and as Hobo Joe in The Dare Project. He is currently studying with the Upright Citizen's Brigade. In December, he played a leading role in a Russian-produced, apocalyptic mockumentary within a mockumentary.

Steve Hubbell will played by Ken Forman. Ken appeared on Broadway in Wilder,Wilder,Wilder – Three By Thornton (Tony nomination for Best Revival), and in many Off and Off-Off Broadway productions. Regionally he’s been seen in To Kill A Mockingbird, The Miracle Worker and The Diary of Anne Frank (Bay Street Theatre), The Odd Couple (Carousel Dinner Theatre), Two Rooms (Portland Stage), and I’m Not Rappaport (Westport Country Playhouse). He’s been on TV in Boardwalk Empire, all of the Law & Order franchises, Chappelle’s Show, Michael and Michael Have Issues, Welcome To New York, Up All Night, and in the movies Chico & Rita, Lonely In America, Hacks and David Chase’s forthcoming Not Fade Away.

Jessica Lefkowwill play Eunice Hubbell. Jessica directed the world premiere of the Helen Hayes Award-winning Honey Brown Eyes, (Best New Play 2009). Jessica is a company member of devised-theater group dog&ponydc. She also performs with DC’s Taffety Punk Theater Company. Jessica is a proud member of AFTRA.

Ruben Ortiz will play Pablo Gonzales. Ruben is a proud performer, collaborator, and co-founder of A Broken Umbrella Theater with whom he developed and performed in iMarvel, Vaudevillian, and Play With Matches. He earned a BA in Theater Arts from Muhlenberg Collegeand a MFA in Acting from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of Arts. Rubin’s theatre credits include The Odd Couple-Female Version (Surflight Theater), References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (Art/Works Theater LA), The Catonsville Nine (Actors’Gang), Our Lady of 121st St. (MSGA) and Birthday Duet (Cell Theater NYC). Rubin has also appeared on TV in The Guiding Light and Kath& Kim.

James Heffernan and Mark Della Ventura will fulfill the roles of Doctor and Young Collector, respectively. James has recently appeared as Horace Vandergelder in Holly Dolly at the Sugden Theatre. Markhas performed Off-Off Broadway in the Harvest One-Act Festival with Variations Theatre Group (Awarded “Best Actor”) and was honored with a 2011 Carbonell nomination for “Best Supporting Actor” for his work in Brothers Beckett at The ALLIANCE THEATRE Lab.

All Gulfshore Playhouse productions are presented exclusively at The Norris Center in Downtown Naples.

Gulfshore Playhouse’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire will run April 6 through 22, with a preview performance on April 5. Tickets are between $35 and $40 and can be purchased by visiting  www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org or by calling the box office at 1-866-811-4111.

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