Kowalski
Lookinglass Theatre opens its 2026/2027 season with a tantalizing production, Kowalski. Written by Gregg Ostrin and directed by Colin Hanlon, the play is a captivating melodramatic comedy that explores the first encounter between legendary playwright Tennessee Williams and rising star Marlon Brando, who was unknown at the time. The play begins with Tennessee Williams sitting in a sofa chair during an interview, where he shares intimate stories and memories from his life, culminating in significant events from the summer of 1947, when he first met Marlon Brando. The scene shifts to the dilapidated beach house, where his close friend and confidante, Margo Jones, played brilliantly by Alison Cimmet, is lying on a couch. Jones, affectionately dubbed "The Texas Tornado" and a pivotal figure in the evolution of modern American drama and the world of theater, fiercely advocated for his work, cementing their close friendship, and co-directed Williams's groundbreaking hit, The Glass Menagerie. She's engrossed in the pages of Williams's latest script, A Streetcar Named Desire. Williams impatiently paces the room, awaiting her reply, and abruptly cries out for her to share her thoughts. Margo breaks the silence and tells Williams she thinks the play is brilliant.
The thrill of the moment is interrupted when Pancho (Reece Dos Santos), Williams's lover (who inspired elements of Stanley Kowalski's character), comes into the room, eager for attention and companionship. His initial desires quickly turn to irritation as he senses the escalating excitement between Margo and Williams over the new play. A storm of emotions brews as Williams sarcastically belittles Pancho and reminds him that his work supersedes any relationship; the feud culminates in a volatile outburst, and Pancho storms out of the house. With him gone, Williams continues his conversation with Margo until she learns of his plans to enlist a Broadway director instead of her. Perturbed but ultimately understanding Williams's decision, they have an in-depth discussion about the cast. Williams reveals the challenges of finding an actor suitable for the male lead, a role steeped in raw violence and emotional complexity. He tells Margo that the Broadway director suggests an unknown actor named Marlon Brando, arguing that he is an up-and-coming star and deserves a chance to audition for the part. Initially, Williams is reluctant and becomes frustrated by Brando's unprofessionalism when the actor shows up several days late, causing Williams to refuse him outright. However, when Brando finally arrives at Williams's home, the drama begins as Brando covertly auditions for the role the moment he walks in.
In reality, and in Ostrin's play, Marlon Brando fixed Tennessee Williams' toilet and faulty fuse box. He uses his other skills to charm the playwright into casting him as Stanley Kowalski. Brando continues to portray Williams's characterization of Stanley Kowalski, showing his rebellious nature as a man who fiercely guards his personal life from others' scrutiny, as well as Kowalski's darker side, including his intense, violent behavior and seductive charm. The two share stories about their troubled childhood and abusive relationships, with Brando sharing about his abusive father and his mother's battles with alcoholism, and even sharing a fictitious story about him being with a girl at a mental institution. This opened Williams' heart to share his troubled past, including the traumatic story of his sister getting a lobotomy. But when Williams realizes Brando is lying, he asks him to leave, which brings Ricker, as Jo, into the play as Brando's actress friend, who came with him from New York to support him during the audition. Williams uses Jo as a pawn to aggravate Brando; however, he is undeterred and continues his plot to win the role. Their performances create an electric onstage dynamic, drawing the audience into the intense, confrontational psychological cat-and-mouse game between the two, both of whom became legendary figures. The play centers around Stanley Kowalski, a complex, crude, overly aggressive, and controlling character from A Streetcar Named Desire. Hanlon masterfully directs this production, bringing together an excellent cast that includes Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Jacob Moskovitz, Alison Cimmet, Reece Dos Santos, and Ellie Ricker. Still, the focus remains on Galecki and Moskovitz, and a mesmerizing chemistry unfolds between them.
Galecki delivers a compelling performance as Tennessee Williams, capturing Williams' soft, slow Southern drawl, facial expressions, and hand gestures, while Jacob Moskovitz captures Brando's raw spirit, revealing the intense passion of a young actor hungry to win the role by playing off Williams' vulnerabilities. The interactions between Galecki and Moskovitz are magnetic. Their sharp, combative banter draws you in, creating the sensation of eavesdropping on a momentous conversation, much like being a fly on the wall during a historic meeting between the legendary playwright Tennessee Williams and actor Marlon Brando.
Williams wrote several dramatic plays: The Night of the Iguana, The Rose Tattoo, Suddenly Last Summer, and two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and A Streetcar Named Desire. His plays also reflect Williams' forbidden relationship, which he could not openly share during an era when it was stigmatized in mainstream American culture. He did, however, provide subtextual references through characters such as Allan Grey, Blanche DuBois's husband, and the tragic backstory in A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as the character Shipper, Brick's friend in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Kowalski delivers 90 minutes of enthralling, witty, and engaging theater, and Lookingglass Theatre starts the year off with one incredible performance.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lookingglass Theatre Company
KOWALSKI
Written by Gregg Ostrin's Play
Directed by Colin Hanion
September 15 through October 25, 2026
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