Crisis Resource Center Partnership Recognized

Little Theatre of Owatonna has announced the cast for the upcoming winter production of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winning drama “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The play is regarded as among the finest of the 20th century and considered one of Williams’ greatest achievements. It is presented by Little Theatre of Owatonna through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service. This performance is directed by Jeffrey Jackson with technical direction by Kristi Westergaard.

This production is recommended for mature audiences only due to the drama’s portrayal of domestic abuse.

The play tells the story of Blanche DuBois, a former school teacher and fading Southern belle from Laurel, Mississippi, who shows up at the doorstep of the apartment that her younger sister Stella shares with her husband, the brutish Stanley Kowalski. Because of the way in which she looks down on Stanley and the neighborhood into which he has brought her sister to live, Blanche earns the instant dislike of Stanley. The presence of Blanche, who is penniless and more than willing to live off of Stella and Stanley, causes problems for the couple, who already have a volatile relationship.

The play also features Mitch, who works in the same plant in which Stanley is employed and is a poker and bowling buddy of Stanley. Mitch, who is a kinder and gentler man than Stanley, initially falls for Blanche until Stanley tells Mitch some of sordid history that he has discovered about Blanche.

Performances of “A Streetcar Named Desire” will be 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, 17, 23, 24, with 2 p.m. matinees on Feb. 18 and 25. Tickets are available at LittleTheatreofOwatonna.org.

As mentioned earlier, part of the story line for Streetcar demonstrates domestic abuse, and as such, LTO wanted to ensure that we were providing opportunities for our patrons to know that there are options out there for help and support.

LTO will be partnering with the Crisis Resource Center to help reach and offer a resource with this sensitive, but very real issue of domestic abuse through the production. We will provide material from Crisis Resource Center at each LTO production. We are also planning on engaging a staff member of the Crisis Resource Center, along with the Director of our production, Jeffrey Jackson, in a “Meet the Director” session after the first Sunday matinee on February 18th. We encourage the community to come out and hear from Jeffrey how he approached this subject in his artistic director role with the production, and how the Crisis Resource Center manages the topic of abuse and what resources are available. We can also learn how to be an advocate for those around us that are facing this kind of difficult situation.