Glass Menagerie
Although I have never seen a Tennessee Williams play, I was pretty disappointed by this version of The Glass Menagerie. Part of my disappointment is probably because I’ve studied this play for years and have read it multiple times. It’s easy to build up an image in your head of what something should look like. I think that’s why movie adaptations of novels can be so disappointing as well. My other reservation against the criticisms I’m about to list is that I admittedly had a pretty bad seat. I couldn’t see a corner of the stage or any of the projections, although I heard that the projections didn’t really add anything to the drama. There were some points when Braedon shared his opera glasses and I got to see the action a bit closer though.
The set was a bit strange. The outside edges were filled with the detailed set and interesting prop pieces. However, the center where all the action took place was an opaque black that seemed to suck the dimension out of much of the show. I expected some haze to add the idea of memory. Instead, the designers chose this disappointing emptiness. There was no fire escape, which is the second most important symbol in the play. And the glass menagerie itself was arranged too stately and crisply for an apartment in depression-era St. Louis. I’m afraid that these choices were made just to make the show seem more contemporary and different, but they did it at such a great cost to the art.
Amanda is my favorite character of The Glass Menagerie and I was disappointed by how much Amy Adams seemed to be holding back. Amanda is the largest and most ridiculous character in the play and it felt like her stakes here too low throughout. In William’s script, she’s hilarious and very sad. However Adams’ acting made her just a bit feckless and unreminiscient. I wonder how many of the poor acting choices were due the direction, as Amy Adams is regarded as a phenomenal actress.
I was also disappointed about how certain moments worked at the end. They felt off-tone for the show. The most grievous offender was the dance and the unicorn breaking at the end. I expected something larger when that happened. That moment is the clear climax of the show and deserved at least a lighting change, but there was nothing. The dance itself was pretty awkward too, which is contrary to Williams’ intention. During the scene, Jim is supposed to empower and draw the joy out of Laura, but it felt like nothing changed.
It’s hard to watch The Glass Menagerie and not compare it to The Corn is Green. Both are reminiscent, semi-autobiographical memory plays. They’re modern classics as well. And both these adaptations added/divided an extra narrator/writer character who drove the story. These were the most interesting additions to these stories I could’ve imagined. Brilliant storytelling in both cases, but I think The Corn is Green worked better as an overall story. I think I identify with this play more and definitely plan to draw monologues from it. The set for The Corn is Green was much more interesting than the one for The Glass Menagerie too. It was so dynamic, being built as the show progressed. I’m of the opinion that every show should make an effort to include meaningful music. Emlyn Williams’ play made great use of music as well while Tennessee Williams’ play didn’t. However, in The Corn is Green, every actor knew what they wanted and how high the stakes were. This, as well as some scripting changes, made for an excellent play, and a brilliant memory play.
Theatre in London U of A 