"The Glass Menagerie" Review

Once again I did a shorter and longer review, so here's both.

Longer review:

Review of ATC’s Production of The Glass Menagerie

by Marc Hansen

Famous playwright Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is a theatre classic, and watching ATC’s new production of it reminds you why. Like reading The Great Gatsby, watching Casablanca, or listening to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, The Glass Menagerie defines its medium and works best when working within it.

The play focuses on four characters, narrator Tom Wingfield, his Pleurosis stricken sister Laura, their unbearable mother Amanda, and Laura’s unrequited love interest, the charming Jim O’Connor. The tormented Wingfield house is filled with nonstop fights between Amanda, an aged Southern belle who wishes to return to her past, and her children, so miserable they try to escape their lives through movies and a set of glass animals. Tom, the character who was supposedly based on Williams himself, yearns to be a writer, but works in a factory he hates, so he can support his mother and his crippled sister. Once Laura finds a husband to care for her, Tom will be free to live out the adventures he dreams of in his movies. So, Tom sets up a date for Laura with one of his fellow colleagues, but what Tom doesn’t know is that this man used to be Laura’s old crush back in high school.

The Glass Menagerie is classic theatre - a few characters, all in one setting, dealing with internal angst and desires, all told through magnificent dialogue. It brings to mind other defining masterpieces such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and A Streetcar Named Desire (also penned by Williams). The ATC’s production also contains the most beautiful stage lighting I have ever seen. One long lasting scene is entirely candlelit, while another perfectly captures the way real moonlight would shine over the characters. The cast is all around fantastic, but props especially go to Brian Ibsen as Jim O’Connor, who managed to professionally stay in character and improvise when he unintentionally broke a table while leaning against it, and Barbara Wengerd as Laura, who truly makes us feel and care for the most sympathetic character.

In fact, the play really starts to pick up when Jim and Laura delve into conversation. At first, when it seems clear that this relationship could never last, we feel bad for Laura, but as the scene goes on it’s clearer that it’s the impact Jim has on Laura’s character that’s more important than his reciprocation. He gives her insight and confidence, and finally breaks down the glass wall that she’s been hiding behind. He may not be her future husband, but he finally gives her the chance to go out there, experience things, and not worry about what others think. The entire play is brilliant.

Like all good classics, The Glass Menagerie is filled with meaning, powerful themes and subtle little touches that really add to the overall experience. The ingenious script is like a tightly woven quilt, with each patch coming together. It may seem bleak and depressing at first, and you just want to tell the characters to lighten up, but it gets at something much deeper and more thoughtful. Williams put a lot of work into creating these fully realized characters and truly saying something profound with his play. It’s sure to give you lots to talk about after the show’s done, and its themes stay with you long after the night. What may not seem like traditional fun strangely is, because what Williams gets at feels true and relatable, something that few might have been able to capture, and for me, to find that truth is what art is all about.

Grade: A

Shorter review:

Review of ATC’s Production of The Glass Menagerie

by Marc Hansen

Famous playwright Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is a theatre classic, and watching ATC’s new production of it reminds you why. Like reading The Great Gatsby or listening to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, The Glass Menagerie defines its medium and works best when working within it.

The play focuses on narrator Tom Wingfield, his Pleurosis stricken sister Laura, their unbearable mother Amanda, and the charming Jim O’Connor. The tormented Wingfield house is filled with nonstop fights between Amanda, an aged Southern belle, and her children, so miserable they try to escape their lives through movies and a set of glass animals. Tom yearns to be a writer, but works in a factory he hates, so he can support his mother and his crippled sister. Once Laura finds a husband to care for her, Tom will be free to live out the adventures he dreams of in his movies. So, Tom sets up a date for Laura with one of his fellow colleagues, but what Tom doesn’t know is that this man used to be Laura’s old crush back in high school.

The Glass Menagerie is classic theatre - a few characters, all in one setting, dealing with internal angst. The ATC’s production also contains the most beautiful stage lighting I have ever seen. One long lasting scene is entirely candlelit, while another perfectly captures the way real moonlight would shine over the characters. The cast is all around fantastic, but props especially go to Brian Ibsen as Jim O’Connor and Barbara Wengerd as Laura, who truly makes us feel and care for the most sympathetic character.

The play really starts to pick up when Jim and Laura delve into conversation. At first, when it seems clear that this relationship could never last, we feel bad for Laura, but as the scene goes on it’s clearer that it’s the impact Jim has on Laura’s character that’s more important than his reciprocation. He may not be her future husband, but he finally gives her the chance to go out there, experience things, and not worry about what others think.

Like all good classics, The Glass Menagerie is filled with meaning, powerful themes and subtle little touches that really add to the overall experience. It may seem bleak and depressing at first, but it gets at something much deeper and more thoughtful. Williams put a lot of work into creating these fully realized characters and truly saying something profound with his play. It’s sure to give you lots to talk about after the show’s done, and its themes stay with you long afterwards. What may not seem like traditional fun strangely is, because what Williams gets at feels true and relatable, and for me, to find that truth is what art is all about.

Grade: A

In other words, go see it. It's truly amazing. You won't be sorry.