The "Blue Piano" in A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennesse Williams

Tennesse Williams uses a very important element in his stage directions: music. The music in the play comes from the "Blue Piano" in the Four Deuces, a bar close to the apartment building in which the Kowalskis live.

The first question one may ask about this "Blue Piano" is "what does it do?"

The author practically gives us the answer in page 3: "It expresses the spirit of the life which goes on here."

From the start, this statement gives us the clue that the music from the Blue Piano will highlight the mood for certain scenes. An example can be observed in Scene 2 when Stanley reveals to Blanche that Stella is having a baby (page 43). At that moment, the music from the Blue Piano rises in volume.

Just like the Blue Piano expresses the spirit of life, the Varsouviana music expresses death. Blanche was dancing the Varsouviana at the moment when she told her husband he "disgusted" her, and then he ran away and shot himself. Throughout the play, when Blanche remembers or tells the story of her dead husband, the Varsouviana can be heard. Curiously, there are moments where the only one that can hear this music is Blanche, like in Scene 9, page 114. Mitch even states that Blanche is "Boxed out of her mind."

Tennesse Williams employs the Blue Piano as part of his stage directions to highlight moments in the play that contain references to life and emotion, as well as death. He also uses music to set the mood for certain scenes, making music in the play a very important motif.

By Juan David Bonilla & Mauricio Castillo