“The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams is coming to THEATREWORKS Sept. 13-30 at the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater in University Hall.
The play, as its author Williams famously said, “is memory.” And like memory it is fluid, delicate and not fixed. The “Glass Menagerie” is both a perfectly constructed drama and a candlelit enchantment. When it first opened in 1944, the play was a revolutionary blend of dramatic realism and poetic staging, and even now it retains a dramatic quality entirely its own. The play is ideally suited to the intimate Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, and THEATREWORKS has assembled a team of young artists to bring it to new and glowing life.
Anna Brenner is the New York-based director in charge of re-creating the world of the Wingfield’s, each with dreams, desperations, and hopes for change. She has assembled a team of collaborative artists and designers who will keep the dramatic action tense, funny, and poignant, and the play’s memory indelible for its audience. In the cast, Jane Fromme, plays Amanda, the mother whose dedication and love threatens to smother her own children. Ryan Reilly plays Tom, the son desperate to escape, needing adventure and his freedom, yet tied by guilt and obligation to his home. Melissa Brown is the shy and reclusive daughter, Laura, who spends her time with her fragile menagerie. Philip Guerette is the Gentleman Caller, the long awaited visitor from the larger world who comes to dinner in the play’s astonishing final scenes.
Almost as much visual and sensory art as it is drama, “The Glass Menagerie” draws on the full resources of the theater, and demands a team of gifted designers. Julia Przedmojska has created a tenement apartment that seems to float in space; Yi Zhao will fill the space with light, keeping the actors radiant in darkness. Elizabeth Atkinson will compose the music, which gives the play its rich and delicate emotional pulse. Ásta Hostetter will create the costumes.
What should audiences expect from The Glass Menagerie? A great and precious play, of course. A true classic. But more than that, as the director explains, “they should expect an intimate, powerful and entertaining night at the theatre. I hope they find beauty in it, and it awakens them in some way.”
Show dates and times Sept. 13-30
- Wednesday – Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday matinees, 2 p.m.
- Sundays, 4 p.m.
Tickets (Reservations are advised)
- Reserved: $35
- Children under 16: $15 (Children under 5 years old not admitted)
- Friends & Family 4-Pack: $100 (with promo code TENNESSEE)
- 2-for-1 tickets to Wednesday performances (with promo code WILLIAMS)
Special Events
- Opening night reception, Sept. 13. Free food after the show.
- First Friday talk back, Sept. 14. The director and actors will answer audience questions after the show.
- First Saturday gala, Sept. 15. Free drinks and snacks to celebrate opening weekend.
- Prologue lecture, 2:30 p.m. Sept. 16, Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater. A panel of experts will discuss Tennessee Williams and his works.
For reservations or information, visit http://www.theatreworkscs.org or call the box office at (719) 255-3232.
— Caitlin Green
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