Editing A Streetcar Named Desire (section)

=== Original Broadway production ===
{{Multiple image |direction = vertical | width = 175
|image1=Marlon Brando Streetcar 1948 e.jpg
|alt1=Brando leaning with his arms folded
|image2=Van Vechten Marlon Brando image 170904.jpg
|alt2=Brando with no shirt
|caption2=[[Carl Van Vechten]] portrait photograph of [[Marlon Brando]] during the Broadway production of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (December 27, 1948)}}
The original Broadway production was produced by [[Irene Mayer Selznick]] and directed by [[Elia Kazan]].<ref name="ibdb" /> It opened at the [[Shubert Theatre (New Haven)| Shubert Theatre]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]], [[Connecticut]] in early November 1947, then played the [[Walnut Street Theatre]] in [[Philadelphia]] before moving to the [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]] on December 3, 1947.<ref name="ibdb" /> Selznick originally wanted to cast [[Margaret Sullavan]] and [[John Garfield]], but settled on the less well-known [[Jessica Tandy]] and a virtual unknown at the time, [[Marlon Brando]]. The opening night cast also included [[Kim Hunter]] as Stella and [[Karl Malden]] as Mitch.<ref name="ibdb" /> Tandy was cast after Williams saw her performance in a West Coast production of his one-act play ''[[Portrait of a Madonna]]''. Williams believed that casting Brando, who was young for the part as it was originally conceived, would evolve Kowalski from being a vicious older man to someone whose unintentional cruelty can be attributed to youthful ignorance. Despite its shocking scenes and gritty dialogue, the audience applauded the debut performance.<ref>December 3, ''This Day In History Calendar (2008)'', Sourcebooks, Inc.</ref> [[Brooks Atkinson]], reviewing the opening in ''The New York Times'', described Tandy's "superb performance" as "almost incredibly true", concluding that Williams "has spun a poignant and luminous story".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Original Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/23/theater/20120423-streetcar.html?_r=0|access-date=2022-12-23|website=archive.nytimes.com}}</ref>

Later in the run, [[Uta Hagen]] succeeded Tandy, [[Carmelita Pope]] succeeded Hunter, and [[Anthony Quinn]] succeeded Brando. Hagen and Quinn took the show on a national tour directed by [[Harold Clurman]], and then returned to Broadway for additional performances. [[Ralph Meeker]] also took on the part of Stanley both in the Broadway and touring companies. Tandy received a [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play]] in 1948, sharing the honor with [[Judith Anderson]] and [[Katharine Cornell]]. The original Broadway production closed, after 855 performances, in 1949.

The Original cast included, [[Jessica Tandy]] as [[Blanche DuBois]], [[Karl Malden]] as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell, [[Marlon Brando]] as [[Stanley Kowalski]], [[Kim Hunter]] as [[Stella Kowalski]], [[Rudy Bond]] as Steve Hubbell, [[Nick Dennis]] as Pablo Gonzales, [[Peg Hillias]] as Eunice Hubbell, Vito Christi as Young Collector, [[Richard Garrick]] as Doctor, Ann Dere as Nurse (later called the Matron), [[Gee Gee James]] as Negro Woman and [[Edna Lewis Thomas|Edna Thomas]] as Mexican Woman.