An astute production
of a Williams classic By
Carol King
Tennessee
Williams' finely-crafted classic, "The
Glass Menagerie," is being given a
sensitive and astute production at Curtain
Call Theatre. You will recognize the family
of romantics -- Tom Wingfield (Ian LaChance);
his mother, Amanda (Barbara Richards); and
his sister, Laura (Elizabeth Whitney) --
who face their challenges, as so many of
Williams' characters do, with apprehension
and hope. This is by far Williams' most
poetic play, a memory play with Tom as narrator,
and the melodious language is served well
at Curtain Call.
grim
existence
The story is very specifically placed in
this production, in a tenement in St. Louis
in "1945 and the past," according
to the program. Amanda and her children
are living on the edge of poverty, having
been deserted by the man of the house long
ago. Tom has become the breadwinner and
Amanda and Laura depend on his income for
their very existence. The grim drift of
their day-to-day existence, however, has
not squelched their dreams.
Amanda clings frantically to a life in the
"Old South" which, in her memory,
was refined and filled with "gentleman
callers." Her daughter, Laura, has
been disabled both physically and psychologically
by a childhood disease. She walks with a
limp and is painfully shy. She has no gentleman
callers, though Amanda awaits them with
cheerful determination. Laura's only comfort
-- her only pastime -- is her collection
of finely-spun glass animals. Tom, a poet
who works in a warehouse, longs to be free
of his responsibilities. He is called upon
to bring home a young man for Laura, and,
dutifully, he does so. Jim O'Connor (Chris
Cook) is, unlike the Wingfields, sturdily
ordinary.
No one in American drama has written more
intuitively about women than Williams, and
their fragility, as symbolized by Laura's
collection, is poignantly portrayed by the
women in this cast. Richards gives Amanda
the right amount of giddy energy as she
recalls her youth in Blue Mountain. Whitney
plays Laura with the radiant and over-tender
sensibility of the playwright's "soft
characters" who are unarmed against
the callousness of life. LaChance struggles
with Williams' stock theme of magic versus
reality. In this production, reality wins
out -- a choice I might not have made, but
the actor handles it well. Cook as the "Gentleman
Caller," the symbol of hope, gives
an exceptional performance as a man rooted
in reality and a contrast to Laura's disconnection
to the world.
Director Cindy Brizzell-Bates has shepherded
her actors and production crew with precision.
If the pace in the first act is a tad too
leisurely, it is redeemed in the second
act.
technical
notes
Lighting design by John E. Miller serves
Michael Blau's remarkable set beautifully.
The two work in concert to create the confining
atmosphere of the character's lives and
the magic of the hope they cling to.
There is no costume designer mentioned,
but I must compliment Richard's second act
gown, which perfectly recreates the Southern
Belle of Amanda's youth.
