- “I haven't been in a play since high school, and I thought it would be a good chance to meet some other adults.”
- ―Marge Simpson
"A Streetcar Named Marge" is the second episode of Season 4. (originally produced for season 3).
Synopsis[]
Marge gets a taste of the acting bug and decides to volunteer at the Springfield Community Center. She is cast as Blanche DuBois in a musical version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" directed by the flamboyant Llewellyn Sinclair. Meanwhile, Maggie squares off with her strict new daycare provider.
Full Story[]
While Homer, Bart and Lisa are watching television, Marge excitedly announces that she is going to audition for a local musical production of A Streetcar Named Desire. She wants to meet new people, since she usually spends all day caring for Maggie. Bart and Lisa react with indifference and continues to watch cartoons on the television. However, Homer makes his case clear that he is against Marge's interest in acting and wants her to stay at home and cater to his every need. Furious, Marge chooses to go through with the audition to spite him. Marge is cast in the role of Blanche DuBois in Oh! Streetcar, the musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire directed by the flamboyant Llewellyn Sinclair at the Springfield Community Center. She is having a hard time with her more emotional scenes. Acting opposite Ned Flanders as Stanley Kowalski, he tries to encourage her to go through with the breaking the bottle scene.
Meanwhile, Maggie has been placed in day care at the Ayn Rand School for Tots and leads a rebellion against the strict caretaker, who confiscates all of the babies' pacifiers. When she is caught (being up at nap time) the first time by Ms. Sinclair, she punishes Maggie with a closed playpen (but unknown to her, another baby throws Maggie a ball to play with in the meantime).
After coming home, Marge asks Homer to help her learn her lines. However, he refuses by revealing he is more interested in his handheld bowling game and orders her to get him a beer. Marge refuses and heads to Ned's house instead.
The day before the performance, Marge and Ned are again practicing the bottle scene as Homer arrives to drive Marge home. Homer repeatedly interrupts the rehearsal and is subsequently kicked out by Sinclair's bodyguards. He then heads back to his car and honks for Marge to come out. Finally fed up with Homer's impatience, Marge finally smashes the bottle and lunges at Ned, impressing Sinclair further.
At dinner that night, Marge talks about the play and the kids are impressed. However, Homer shows his disinterest and demands she opens his pudding can. Fed up with his lack of appreciation, she leaves for Ned's house and tells Homer to open his own can of pudding. After Marge leaves, he attempts to do so, but the pull tab for the can breaks off on his finger. Desperate, he shouts next door for Marge to come home and open his can of pudding. Marge ignores him and continues to focus on rehearsing her scenes with Ned. He asks her to give Homer a break, but Marge refuses and calls Homer "a big ape" for the way he's treated her.
The next day at the Ayn Rand School for Tots, Maggie again attempts to regain the pacifiers and this time succeeds. Ms. Sinclair is forced to admit defeat when she sees all the babies sucking on their pacifiers. Homer arrives to pick Maggie up and he and his kids go to watch the musical.
Homer immediately falls into boredom, but he perks up when Marge appears on stage and becomes saddened over the way Stanley treats Blanche. All the while he slowly picks up the plot and Marge's feelings along with it. Marge puts on a great performance and everyone applauds, except Homer, who is staring sad in front of her and possibly feeling guilty for the way he mistreated her. After the play, Marge berates Homer believing he got bored with the play. However he is able to explain to her that his feelings were of sadness and sympathy for Blanche. He explains that he wishes he was the husband to protect and cherish her, instead of being like Stanley. Seeing that Homer was indeed moved by the play, Marge reconciles with Homer and they happily leave the theater.
Behind the Laughter[]
Production[]
This is the penultimate episode to be animated by Klasky-Csupo, Inc. for the very first time.
Controversy[]
The episode faced controversy from New Orleans, Louisiana, due to a song in which it describes the city negatively:
Long before the Superdome, where the Saints of football play, lived a city that the damned call home, hear their hellish Rondelet. New Orleans! Home of pirates, drunks and whores. New Orleans! Tacky, overpriced souvenir stores. If you wanna go to hell you should take that trip to the Sodom and Gomorrah on the "Mississippi". New Orleans! Stinking, rotten "vomity" vile. New Orleans! Putrid, brackish, maggoty, foul. New Orleans! Crummy, lousy, rancid and rank. New Orleans!
The writers apologized for this, and in the next episode opening Bart repeatedly writes "I will not defame New Orleans" on the blackboard. On the special features for the DVD, there is a featurette about this.