# 3186n - 1999 33c Celebrate the Century - 1940s: "A Streetcar Named Desire" - Broadway Hit 1947

US #3186n
1999 “A Streetcar Named Desire” – Broadway Hit 1947 – Celebrate the Century (1940s)

• Part of the fifth sheet in the Celebrate the Century stamp series issued from 1998-2000
• Honors the play “A Streetcar Named Desire”
• Includes text on the back with historical details

Stamp Category: Commemorative
Series: Celebrate the Century
Value: 32¢ First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue: February 18, 1999
First Day City: Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia
Quantity Issued: 188,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Intaglio
Format: Panes of 15
Perforations: 11.5
Tagging: Block Tagging

Why the stamp was issued: To commemorate the opening of Tennessee Williams’ play, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” in 1947. It remains one of the most popular plays in history.

About the stamp design: Pictures an adaptation of an illustration by Don Freeman which had originally been used to publicize the show. Includes the following text on the back: “Tenessee Williams’ powerful play, “A Streetcar Named Desire” opened on Broadway December 3, 1947. It starred Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski and Jessica Tandy as Blanche DuBois. The play won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for drama.”

First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Dobbins Air Force Base Fuel Cell Hangar in Georgia.

About the Celebrate the Century series: The USPS launched the Celebrate the Century series in 1998 to mark the end of the 20th century and herald the arrival of the 21st. The series includes 10 sheets of 15 stamps (150 in total), with each honoring important moments from a different decade (1900s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s). At the time of completion, it was the longest and most ambitious commemorative stamp series in US history.

History the stamp represents: The post-World War II period was one of excitement and experimentation in the American theater. The focus of many plays of this time, including that of “A Streetcar named Desire,” was ordinary men and women who questioned the accepted values in a changing society. The work earned Tennessee Williams a Pulitzer Prize in 1948.

Williams wrote the play, originally titled “The Poker Night,” in Mexico. Set in New Orleans’ French quarter, the story focuses on high-strung, guilt-ridden Blanche DuBois and brutal Stanley Kowalski. A southern gentlewoman who has become lost in a heartless modern world, Blanche’s spirit is gradually crushed by Stanley. One of the play’s most memorable lines, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers,” was spoken by Blanche as she left for a mental institution.

The Broadway version of the play opened December 3, 1947, at the Barrymore Theatre in New York City. Cast members included Marlon Brando as Stanley, Kim Hunter as his wife Stella, Jessica Tandy as Blanche, and Karl Malden as Harold Mitchell. When the play opened, Williams was already well-known as the author of “The Glass Menagerie,” which had been released two years earlier. “A Streetcar named Desire” established Williams as a new talent in the American theater.