When Blanche Met Brando - Hardcover

"Opinionated, revealing, constantly entertaining account of the birth and growth of Tennessee Williams's most famous play." --"Kirkus Reviews""A comprehensive minihistory of 20th-century American stage and screen and [Staggs] doesn't skimp on tabloid juice." --"Publishers Weekly"

Exhaustively researched, witty and exuberantly opinionated, WHEN BLANCHE MET BRANDO is everything a fan needs to know about the ground-breaking New York and London stage productions of Williams' "Streetcar" as well as the classic Brando/ Leigh film directed by Elia Kazan. Sam Staggs' interviews with the living cast members of each production reveal for the first time details of how the play became a classic, and make this book satisfying as both a pop culture read and as a deeper piece of thinking about a well-known story. Fans will renew their curiosity about the connection between the role of Blanche and Viven Leigh's insatiable sexual appetite and later descent into breakdown. They may also - for the first time-question whether the character of Blanche was actually "mad" or whether her supposed madness was symptomatic of another disorder. The chapter on censorship of the film reads like a thriller - and an indictment. Staggs' new book will fascinate fans and enrich newcomers' understanding of A Streetcar Named Desire's importance in American theatre and movie history.