Many college students have experienced Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie in one way or another. Most read it in high school and dissected its themes and dramatic significance.
But until you’ve seen it performed live, you don’t realize how engaging and familiar the characters and themes of the play really are.
No English teacher or critic is going to be able to convince you-go see it for yourself.
Saint Louis University Theatre’s production of The Glass Menagerie runs through this weekend.
As usual, SLU Theatre presents its audience with a high-quality show, just shy of professional perfection. From the costumes to the acting, the details of the show demonstrated a commitment to excellence.
The Theatre’s first step in the right direction was choosing Williams’ play as part of the “Season of Classics.” If you watch this play and don’t come away with some deep thoughts, you weren’t paying attention.
The yearning to leave home, sentiments of love and hate for your family, searching for the definition of success . college students struggle with these dilemmas regularly. The Glass Menagerie delves into these themes with wit and realism.
Consisting of a simple-yet-effective set and a small cast (four characters) the plot is basically this: a young man lives with his overbearing mother and painfully shy sister in a modest apartment.
Each character has an escape from reality-the central metaphor for the play being a collection of glass animals that the sister maintains with obsessive care.
This semi-autobiographical piece is set in Williams’ boyhood home, St. Louis, and contains some of the most famous monologues in American theater. SLU sophomore Marshall White plays the narrator and also Tom Wingfield-the character based on Williams.
White frequently delivers the epic monologues with feeling, but sometimes they fall flat. He compensates for this, however, with fluid interaction with his fellow actors.
Heather Wood plays the sister, Laura, and her interpretation of the character is convincing and effective.
Laura is based on Williams’ sister Rose, who was diagnosed with mental illness and eventually lobotomized. Wood’s subtle expressions and calm command of her performance let the audience see that Laura was real, but her world was not.
Lee Emery plays the gentleman caller, Joe O’Connor, who bursts into the Wingfield family’s life and disrupts their carefully constructed and unrealistic existence.
Emery succeeds in portraying the easygoing, potentially tragic character.
The audience is easily convinced of the character’s sincerity, even though he was also self-absorbed.
The best performance by far, however, comes from Marianna DeFazio, who plays Amanda Wingfield, the overbearing Southern-bred mother.
Her drawl is nearly flawless, and her matronly air seems to be second nature.
Though the character Amanda has the potential for wicked stepmother status, DeFazio reveals Amanda’s compassionate side as well.
The fleshing-out of these characters is wonderful to watch and easily grabs the audience’s attention.
It would be an entertaining and intellectual event to bring your relatives to during Family Weekend.
Make sure to stick around for the talk-back session with the cast and director after the show.
