Ursula Sturgeon's Streetcar Named Desire Website

Hello! Welcome to my dramaturgy website for A Streetcar Named Desire!

image from a vintage Penguin Books cover of A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire is an influential 1947 play by Tennessee Williams. It chronicles the tragic fall of one Blanche DuBois, a formerly rich Southern belle, as she is destroyed in part by her own doings but largely because of the domestic violence and abuse employed by her sister's husband, Stanley Kowalski.

Streetcar has been a deeply influential mainstay of the American theatrical repertoire since its premiere. It has become embedded into popular culture, inspiring (among other things) a film, an opera, a ballet, and an episode of the Simpsons. However, its dark themes and sobering subject matter make it a daunting task to stage, and it has to be handled with care and effort. (See the 'Sensitivity Notes' page for more information.)

About The Dramaturg

This site was built, coded, and written by Ursula Sturgeon. Ursula is a first year dramaturg at Carnegie Mellon University who in the past has worked with The University of Connecticut, The Kennedy Center, and Spotlight on Opera. She specializes in operatic dramaturgy and theatrical history. Some day, Ursula hopes to be an educator on the operatic art, and to bring the joy opera brings her to others. In his spare time, Ursula collects novelty clocks, sews stuffed animals, and writes insane essays online about their favorite opera characters. Ursula can be contacted at ursula@sturgeonmail.com or usturgeo@andrew.cmu.edu.