The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.
This is a show that I have read and studied since middle school. Known for its autobiographical elements that are tested by the abstracted realism the play entails, this memory play was the show that launched Williams career. First premiering in 1944, The Glass Menagerie is about a family in St. Louis in 1937.
Amanda is the mother to Laura and Tom, and this family is as fragile as glass. The show depicts Tom’s memory of his family as he doubles as a narrator. Throughout the show we see how the individual family members all have their own difficulty with accepting their reality. In addition, there are many themes of escapism and wanting to live in past memories. All in all, this show is jam packed with intense moments and beautiful symbolism.
On June 6th, I saw The Glass Menagerie at the Duke of York’s Theater, starring Amy Adams as Amanda. Going into this production, I had a lot of expectations. First, Amy Adams is an amazing American Actress and getting to see her headline on the West End in one of the most fiery and dynamic female written roles ever is such a gift. Second, a professional production of The Glass Menagerie is sure to beat all the productions that I have directed in my mind in the many times reading and analyzing this play…. Right? So needless to say, I was very excited for this show and went in with high expectations.
Upon entering the theater, the stage was not set up how I have ever imagined it. Tennessee Williams is known for being extremely detailed in his descriptions and stage directions. If anything, too specific. But here, the stage was built in a very interesting way. The main center stage was built up like a large black block. This was what formed the “acting space”. There was only a table in one corner and the glass menagerie in the opposite corner. This part of the stage was as plain as plain could be. But surrounding this set was a whole array of miscellaneous pieces. Tables, desks, coat racks, a piano: it honestly looked like the space of an artist or a writer. The area around the stage was way more interesting than the “stage” itself. This will lead to many disappointments throughout the show as the actors seem stuck, in a sense that there is not enough set to help them address the lines they are saying, meanwhile being surrounded by potential tools.
Overall, this performance was quite lackluster in many areas. First being the set, for reasons I have mentioned. But there were many things throughout the show that have ultimately given me the conclusion that the director chose for the show to be depicted this way. One choice I was not fond of was, turning the role of Tom into two part: Tom in the memory and the one retelling the memory. The idea for this split is with backing reason and much to that of enhancing the script. But here in this production, it did not really add to the performance. Older Tom did not have enough lines to support his presence throughout the show. He would close or open the acts and grace around the border of the stage. There were moments he would interact with the other actors, but it wasn’t enough for me to justify his presence. And this may be because the younger Tom had practically no assimilation to that of the narrator. By removing the narrator aspects of Tom, the younger one was left with only the present emotions of frustration, rather than the conflicting resentment and guilt his character can have when both roles are in one character. This choice in my opinion was not a great one, especially since I saw The Corn is Green and saw that production do the split role narrator combo with excellence.
There is so much more I could say about this production, but overall I wish I could talk to the director and ask…. Why? This show had so much potential, but felt unpassionate and unmotivated, which is definitely not the way Williams wrote this show to be. But… Hey, I saw Amy Adams, and the part where she entered in the beautiful southern white dress was the best part of the show.
Theatre in London U of A 