This story is a masterpiece, a text by Tennessee Williams loved, hated, but still known all over the world, a milestone of theater and cinema, which excites for the topicality of the topics covered, diversity, homosexuality, prejudices “. Mariangela D’Abbraccio, daughter and grandson of art (her grandfather was a violinist in the orchestra of the San Carlo theater in Naples, her grandmother a painter and her mother a director) presents “A tram called Desiderio”, the show that Saturday at 21 with reruns on Sunday at 4 pm the drama season opens at the Coccia theater in Novara. Tickets from 21 to 32 euros, also online on the website www.fondazioneteatrococcia.it.
The drama, Pulitzer Prize in 47, puts America in the mirror for the first time on such things as homosexuality, sex, mental distress, family as a bad place, machismo, abused femininity, social hypocrisy. Over time it has become a vehicle for other reasons, sociological, ideological. The text «is set in New Orleans in the 1940s and tells the story of Blanche – says the protagonist – who after the family home was foreclosed on moved to her sister Stella married to a rough and vulgar man of Polish origin, Stanley. Blanche is an alcoholic, widow of a homosexual husband, and will try, failing, to rebuild a saving relationship with Mitch, friend of Stanley. But the violent conflict that arises between her and Stanley will lead her to madness, already latent in her ».
The direction is entrusted to an internationally renowned maestro, Pier Luigi Pizzi. Mariangela D’Abbraccio says: «Each of her shows bears the mark of exceptionality. He put us in a singular scenography, a sort of gray hell, something stronger and more abstract than the claustrophobic image of the tram in which the very young Williams, author of the text that became a film with Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando at the beginning of the 1950s ». A text that remains relevant, however: «Our society is still like this, violent, cruel, aggressive. Stanley is of Polish descent, an outcast from society because he has a brand of origins. And even today there is this attitude against many people of foreign origin. Let us then think of homosexuality: it is not yet normalized ». The character played by the actress, Blanche: «It is the emblem of the fragile person who is crushed in this violent society. She wants to bring a pure, candid message, she hides in dreams and poetry. He also says it: “I don’t want reality, I want magic”. The role of Stanley Kowalski, who was in Marlon Brando’s cinema, is entrusted to Daniele Pecci, well-known face of the small and big screen, in fiction such as “The beauty of women” and “Pride”, up to the most recent “Hearts” . «A solid actor, respectful of the work of others, transformative. I hadn’t worked with him for 30 years, since he was very young when he made “Six Characters in Search of an Author”. We are convinced that we can revive a drama that reveals the dark side of the American dream ».
The tour will go on until March. «It is wonderful to be able to return to the theater, which is life and culture, a sign of civilization. – concludes D’Abbraccio -. In this period, more than ever, we must offer the public a magical evening ».