NET Playhouse: Ten Blocks on the Camino Real (1964 - 1972)

I like most of Tennessee Williams's work. But I have to say that while parts of Ten Blocks On The Camino Real show some promise, it's like a bunch of intriguing characters looking for a plot.

Williams must have been working on some kind of stream of consciousness project when he was putting together this work. It begins with young Martin Sheen in his very first part for big or small screen as a young drifter, former golden gloves champion who has adopted that universal name for GIs in the late World War of Kilroy. Life hasn't been kind to him. Watching him I got the impression he was auditioning for the part of another Williams protagonist Chance Wayne in Sweet Bird Of Youth. He later played it.

El Camino Real, known in English as the King's Road or if you're from Brooklyn, King's Highway. That's a touch of irony for Williams as this road is a last stop to Palookaville, the former golden gloves champ would have understood that reference. These people are all in Palookaville only those who've been their longer have lost their pretensions.

Others you'll recognize are Lotte Lenya, Hurd Hatfield, and Janet Margolin. Interesting people, but all looking for a story.

I hope they find one.

This is not a normal play with a plot and a story like other plays by Tennessee Williams. Instead it is a variation on Dante's Inferno. It is stark and strange and very surreal.

If you are expecting something along the lines of The Glass Menagerie or Streetcar Named Desire, you will be disappointed. It does not have the profound dialog of those plays and the characters are more symbolic rather than being fleshed out as they are in a standard format play.

If you are looking for something real different, you might like this.

This Tennessee Williams one act play is less done than others. In fact this title and play are used in a book of other Williams one acts. It's like he's warming up for the longer and better works to come. Yet he has that flair for the unusual and flamboyant characters in a play. This NET Playhouse version was made in 1966. What is interesting to me is that the director and some of the cast I either have worked with and/or know. First off the Director was Jack Landau whom I was directed by in two productions at the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre in Stratford, CT. This was in the year of 1961. Carrie Nye, one of the stars in this film was performing that summer playing in AS YOU LIKE IT, MACBETH and the leading role in TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. Directed by Mr. Landau I played Paris in this same production opposite Kim Hunter who played Helen of Troy. I also noticed Kenneth LeRoy was cast as well and he and I had studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in 1952. Ken went on to star as Bernardo in the original stage production of WEST SIDE STORY. It's a small world this world of theatre. How connections are made and move on to other ventures.

I had never heard of this play when I saw the DVD on the shelf. So I got it, took it home, and watched it. I found it to be delightful. Martin Sheen glows in the bloom of his youth, Lotte Lenya is a hoot, and the rest of the cast, while unknown to me, were admirable, especially Janet Margolin as Esmeralda.

The production dates back to 1966, in a B&W TV staging for NET - National Educational TV. I suppose that is the predecessor of today's PBS. It was campy and fun, with lots of cheesy sets typical of live TV shows of the day. That aspect alone gives it an ambiance that looks back to an earlier day of less than slick TV performances of more than worthy theatrical properties. Too bad such things are not particularly marketable today. Still, thanks to DVD, one can enjoy one of a kind performances like this one that would otherwise be lost.

This performance is apparently based on an early version of the play, rather than an "excised" version of the final published text. In my edition of Tennessee Williams plays, there is commentary on the fact that he reworked the material several times after its Broadway Premier before releasing the final published version. For that reason alone, this is an interesting historical document. What's more, this version, without commercials, fits neatly into the standard one hour TV time slot, and in my opinion, holds the stage quite well.

I really enjoyed the performance, and recommend it to anyone who is not put off by out of date TV production standards. If you are interested in a more "official" version of the play based on the final published text, there are always books at the library or a book store. Meanwhile, this DVD will provide you with a good visual image while you read.

Ed Flaspoehler, Dallas, TX