The Rose Tattoo

It is a testament to 20th century American playwright Tennessee Williams' talent that his plays are still so popular today, 30-plus years after his death. The majority of his work has never been out of print, and I would argue that the better known plays such as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Glass Menagerie" are continually in performance across the nation and the world.

I was not as familiar with "The Rose Tattoo," though I had read it in college, and was looking forward to seeing it in production for the first time when I discovered that Shattered Globe Theatre was staging it at Theatre Wit as part of their 24th season.

I enjoyed a previous Shattered Globe offering last year, "Mill Fire," a play with a headstrong heroine seeming influenced by Williams. Though a valiant effort at bringing a lesser produced Williams work to Chicago audiences, Globe's "The Rose Tattoo" falls short of fleshing out Williams' characters to full fruition.

"The Rose Tattoo" originally premiered in Chicago in 1950, enjoying a subsequent run on Broadway the following year. Riding on Williams' prior successes of "Streetcar" and "Menagerie," "Tattoo" won four Tony awards and was eventually adapted into an Academy Award winning film.

Our protagonist in "Tattoo" is Serefina Delle Rose (ensemble member Eileen Niccolai), a Sicilian immigrant living along the Gulf Coast in 1951. Serefina is a talented seamstress married to a man she idealizes, raising their daughter Rosa (Daniela Colucci), and pregnant with another child. Serefina's life is shattered when her husband is killed driving his truck for deliveries. She miscarries, and her world becomes enveloped in grief.

We soon realize, as does Serefina, that her idealized world was not so ideal after all. Her husband, it turns out, was killed while smuggling illegal goods, and had a mistress, Estelle (Rachel Sledd). Her humiliation is public, and soon Serefina withdraws into the safety of her home, not daring to interact with her community and barely able to raise her child.

Time passes, and Rosa grows into a beautiful and desirable young woman. Despite Serafina's reservations, Rosa attracts the attention of a sailor, Jack (Drew Schad) and embarks on a romance, all too eager to embrace life with the passion that her mother can no longer feel. Concurrently, chance brings another truck driver Mangiacavallo (Nic Grelli) into Serafina's world. Can Serafina allow herself to feel passion again? And can, in doing so, she allow her daughter to take charge of her own destiny?

"The Rose Tattoo" is a much different play than is typical for Williams. Though no less driven a heroine than Blanche DuBois or Maggie the Cat, Serafina Delle Rose is ultimately a more hopeful character, one that manages to rise above the losses she endures rather than succumb to them. But the production that Shattered Globe brings to the stage ultimately falls short in fulfilling Williams' vision. The acting overall was rather bland, with the pivotal role of Mangicavallo little more than a caricature. As intriguing a character as Serafina should have moved the audience immeasurably with such a powerful emotional journey.

Instead, there was little to indicate that Serafina has gone through any real change by play's end. The set and costumes themselves illustrated this problem. Drenched in pinks and plums, Serafina's world has no nuance. When she re-enters the stage after an evening with Mangicavallo, she is wearing the same tired slip that she donned as a grief-stricken widow.

The highlight of the show, instead, was the budding romance of Rosa and Jack. Colucci shined as a young woman refusing to be held back by grief and loss, and Schad was charming as the utterly sincere and smitten young sailor.

"The Rose Tattoo" runs through February 28 at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont in Chicago. For information or for tickets, call 773-975-8150, or visit www.theatrewit.org