in 1976, Rip Torn enlisted director Jack Gelber to helm a revival at the once celebrated Academy Festival Theatre in Lake Forest, Illinois starring himself as Stanley and his wife Geraldine Page as Blanche. The production was threateningly realistic, projecting a brightly lit, garbage-filled stage reflecting a hostile, predatory world and immersing the audience in a total theatre experience. Gelber's Streetcar was troubling for the critics because it was raw, even dangerous. It pushed the Streetcar script to the farthest reaches of urban violence and unabated naturalism. One review said "This is not the Blanche of butterfly wings. This is gossamer with guts." Page's performance was described as displaying little of Leigh's hysteria or Tandy's forlorn helplessness.
in 1976, Rip Torn enlisted. director Jack Gelber to helm a revival at the once celebrated Academy Festival Theatre in Lake Forest, Illinois starring himself as Stanley and his wife Geraldine Page as Blanche. The production was threateningly realistic, projecting a brightly lit, garbage-filled stage reflecting a hostile, predatory world and immersing the audience in a total theatre experience. Gelber's Streetcar was troubling for the critics because it was raw, even dangerous It pushed the Streetcar script to the farthest reaches of urban violence and unabated naturalism. One review said "This is not the Blanche of butterfly wings. This is gossamer with guts." Page's performance was described as displaying little of Leigh's hysteria or Tandy's forlorn helplessness.