Designers Eugene Lee and Edward Pierce on Creating the ‘Pressure Cooker’ of A Streetcar Named Desire

When it comes to Tennessee Williams’ classic A Streetcar Named Desire, the city of New Orleans is as much a character as Blanche or Stanley. So it fell to set designer Eugene Lee and lighting designer Edward Pierce to bring the energy of the city into Stanley and Stella’s cramped apartment, where the play takes place. “Emily Mann, the director, often referred to it as a pressure cooker, and the heat of New Orleans really plays a part in the storytelling,” said Pierce. “Just across the street, are the clubs, the bars, the jazz music. The street is lined with neon lights and streetlamps.” Tackling the beloved play became “a really fun project,” said Lee, the Tony-winning designer of Wicked, Sweeney Todd and more. “What can I say? It’s a great business.” Click on to see the inner workings of this topnotch design team, then see their creation on stage at the Broadhurst Theatre.