A memory is something like a dream. A euphoric and ethereal remark on the world around us, crafted by the deepest and most unreachable corners of our minds. They send messages and signals, give advice and warnings, and remind us of lessons from the past. They can open up new worlds, make us see things in different ways, alter our emotions or even our beliefs.
So, when you’re bringing a ‘memory play’ to life, it has the capability and the responsibility to do all of these things. Especially when you’re recreating the perspective of a widely admired and respected playwright like Tennessee Williams.
That is why I am fully disappointed in the performance of The Glass Menagerie that our group went to see. It was less of a dream and more of a nightmare.
Trying not to let my own visions and expectations interrupt my genuine experience of this show, I really did give it the benefit of the doubt all the way through. I came from an optimistic viewpoint and tried to use my artistic brain to give this a more beautiful twist than it was able to give itself. However, at the end after speaking with my fellow students and seeing other plays since then that have crafted the idea of a memory much more expertly — I’m disappointed in The Glass Menagerie.
Now I don’t want this to be a complete hate letter to this show. I did enjoy it, and seeing Amy Adams perform live was definitely a treat. However, I think this show relied too heavily on having a big name on the marquee, and everything else ended up being lazily done.
The lighting is something I typically pay special attention to, and I did not enjoy the lighting choices made in this production. The red and blue light bars placed in the back corners of the stage did not make sense with the rest of the design and did not seem to add to the show at all. The projections were honestly just ugly. I understood their purpose, and I saw what they were trying to do, I just didn’t think it worked well at all. It was unrefined. The most interesting part of the lighting was when the power went out and the entire theatre went into blackout—even the emergency exit signs. It was extremely effective at drawing me in, but then they didn’t go anywhere with it, and they let the power of that moment fizzle and die.
The set was disappointing, I think it had so much potential and it fell short. It was unimaginative and read to me like whoever designed it didn’t really understand the show. The black landscape left so much room for interpretation, but we weren’t given anything to work with. It didn’t operate from the quality of a memory, and it again just came across as lazy. The most interesting part of the set was the glass case with all the animals in it, but it seemed really out of place, especially for a supposedly poor family’s apartment.
The blocking was uninteresting and boring. I wondered if this show even had a director in certain moments, because it really seemed like they needed one to come in and do something! This play is about relationships, the give and take and the things that bring us together and separate us. There is so much room to play here! The most interesting moment was when Tom and Laura were sitting next to each other on the floor. I was heartbroken by the dancing scene, and not in a good way. The moment where Jim and Laura are dancing is such a beautiful moment, with room for lighting and sound to create a beautifully romantic visual effect; there was nothing. The blocking did not work well, it made everything seem awkward and stumbly, and not in the way it is meant to be. Then, when Jim breaks the unicorn – I cringed. It did NOT work well, it didn’t even look like he landed on the glass figure at all, and the actors themselves looked uncomfortable and unpracticed. This moment was not well executed, and it really took me out of the reality of the story. It is the most pivotal moment in the entire show where Tennessee Williams metaphor comes to life and you begin to understand the fragility he is trying to communicate in Laura. This moment was when I officially dropped my optimistic mindset and marked this show off as a mid-level production.
I wouldn’t recommend it, outside of the chance to see Amy Adams perform. She was fantastic, and the man who played Jim was also very charismatic and believable. Other than that I was not impressed by the acting. I know this mostly falls on the director’s choices that were projected upon their performances, but I also think they were given a very difficult task of dropping into a reality that had been sloppily thrown together. Anyone is bound to drown in that scenario. Even the people in front of me remarked that Laura’s performance was indicative and not convincing, and they did not return for the second act of the show. Normally, I’m against this rude sort of behavior. This time, I couldn’t blame them.
The Glass Menagerie is one of my favorite shows, and I was very upset that this it the way they chose to tell his story. I don’t think it did Tennessee Williams any justice or worked at all to communicate his message. I hope the audience didn’t let this particular production get in the way of their perception of Williams. I hope that no one ever does my work this sort of injustice after I’m gone. I bought the script so I could read it again and refresh my love for this show; I must get the taste of this West End production out of my mouth.
To end on a happier note, this was my first expedition after escaping from the cold chains of quarantine in the Royal National Hotel. It was fantastic to see all my friends again, it was an instant cure-all to get back into the swing of things with them again.
Singing off from London,
Margaret
Theatre in London U of A 