LITTLE ROCK — In the film version of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the character Stanley, an abusive, domineering, bull of a man, can ALMOST be forgiven. Or, at least, Justin Walker could see why characters such as Stanley’s wife, Stella, and her recently arrived sister, Blanche, might forgive him.

He’s a human being, after all, and his drinking problem - temporarily - brought out the worse in him.

Reading Tennessee Williams’ original stage script, however, paints a different picture than the one sanitized for a wider audience.

“Reading the script, for me, was very dark,” says Walker, who will play the role of Stanley in University Theatre’s production of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The show begins tonight at the University Theatre on campus and continues through March 3.

For Walker, the darkness came from two places: The utter brutality of Stanley at various points in the script but also from how much it reminded him of home.

Walker says he grew up in a household where domestic abuse occurred.

“I realized how similar it was to my home life growing up, and I realized it was a story I wanted to tell,” says Walker, a third-year master’s student originally from South Carolina.

The story is one often told, but it’s bolstered in “Streetcar” by Williams’ poetic dialogue and its ability to transcend time.

Director Michael Landman says that those seeing the play for the first time are unlikely to guess it was written in 1947.

The play begins with the arrival of Blanche DuBois at the New Orleans apartmentof her sister, Stella Kowalski, and her sister’s husband, Stanley Kowalski. Blanche, a sensitive, cultured woman, has recently departed Mississippi under duress. Her husband has committed suicide, and the plantation where she grew up has been taken away afterher affair with a student at the school where she taught.

Meanwhile, Stella and Stanley exist in a co-dependent relationship. He provides for her but abuses her verbally and sometimes physically;

she tolerates his behavior for the stability he provides.

Blanche’sarrival upsets the balance, leading to a confrontation.

“(Williams) doesn’t have pure heroes or pure villains,” Landman says. “It’s a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly.” He calls the result “incredibly sexual and brutal.”

Landman and his crew went to great lengths to make sure the UA’s version of “A Streetcar Named Desire” brims with life and a contemporary feel. A trip to New Orleans by Landman and a costume designer provided them with inspiration and character clues. Additionally, Landman brought in folks associated with Peace at Home Family Shelter, a local domestic violence resource center and shelter.

Their coaching gave Walker some direction in how to approach Stanley on stage.

“It opened my eyes a lot to his manipulative qualities, like the tactics he uses with bangs and loud noises. … It was tough for me. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s what that was (at home),’” Walker says.

It puts Walker in an interesting position - he now emulates behavior he wishes he’d never seen.

“He (Stanley) can be brutal, and Justin has been willing to go there,” Landman says.

Landman has similar praise for the other cast members, including Shannon Webber, who plays Blanche; Stephanie Bignault, who plays Stella; and Bob Hart, who plays Harold “Mitch” Mitchell, Blanche’s potential suitor in New Orleans.

“From the first rehearsal, I knew we were going to have a great show,” Landman says.

Whats Up, Pages 11 on 02/22/2013