A SLUG Queen named Desire (or Blanche DuBois anyway)

What a wonderful week in store for the County of Lane!

Not only can the citizens of Eugene meet the SLUG Queens in person at Cozmic Pizza this Saturday (October 11, 2-5pm) for our Voter Registration funfest...(see last post)
but now you can catch Star Powered Old Queen Frank (aka Shandi Sinnamon) in the Tennessee Williams classic "A Street Car Named Desire" (playing in Cottage Grove) this weekend or next.

The Register Guard says, "Shandi Sinnamon may be the perfect Blanche DuBois". MAY be? Is there any question? Anyone who has seen Queen Frank play Patsy Cline in Willamette Repertory Theatre’s “Always”, or sing like a cowgirl in the Rep’s “Chaps”, knows she was born to play Blanche.
“Everybody wants to be Blanche,” she says. “Even men. Blanche is the Hamlet of beyond-Shakespeare roles. It’s pure poetry — Tennessee Williams poetry.

“The role has a range of every possible emotion, including insanity.”

“I am perfect for Blanche,” she says. “I am 56 years old. I am single. And I have had disappointments in love.”

In Williams’ play, which took the Pulitzer Prize in 1948, Blanche comes to visit her pregnant sister Stella in a seedy section of New Orleans. She’s trying to forget her past and start a new life.

The Eugene Weekly raves: "...both Sinnamon and Hawkins perform with impressive skill. They aren’t overly indebted to Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando from the iconic 1951 movie, and they turn overquoted lines into believable moments in the lives of their characters. Sinnamon, in what could easily be a scene-chewing role, shows Blanche’s vulnerability and strength as well as her frantic attempts to cover her tracks."

Tony Rust directs the Cottage Theatre production.

The cast also features Mike Hawkins as Stanley Kowalski, Caroline Cramer as Stella Kowalski and Phil Dempsey as Mitch, along with Marian Dempsey, Carmen Eberle, Dale Flynn, Dan French, Max Maltz, Jennifer Mandeville-Schulz, Frank Schulz and Ruth Townsend.

“Streetcar” runs weekends through Oct. 19. Friday and Saturday shows start at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinees begin at 2:30 p.m. The show contains themes that may not be appropriate for all ages.

Tickets are $13 at www .cottagetheatre.org or 942-8001.