“For nowadays the world is lit by lightning.”
These closing words exemplify the nature of a world so filled with tension that a piercing lightning rather than a gentle candlelight illuminates the world of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.”
Next Wednesday begins the third and final major production of Theatre Fairfield’s 2011-2012 season, a memory play by Tennessee Williams entitled “The Glass Menagerie.” It will be running April 25-28 at 8 p.m. and April 28-29 at 2 p.m. at the Wien Black Box Theatre at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
Williams, who many believe based “The Glass Menagerie” on his own life, is the award-winning playwright of renowned works such as “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
“The Glass Menagerie” follows the story of fallen southern belle Amanda Wingfield, played by Casey Grambo ’12, who desires to give meaning to the lives of her children, Laura and Tom, played by Nancy Laskowski ’12 and Michael Maio ’13 respectively. However, her involvement results in Tom’s longing for escape and Laura’s seclusion into her own world.
Amanda projects her own aspirations onto Laura. She is anxious to see Laura married and provided for, and she enlists the help of Tom to find a gentleman caller for his sister. Amanda’s hopes are fulfilled when Tom invites a co-worker of his, Jim O’Connor, played by Greg Jensen ’12, to dinner. However, Jim unknowingly initiates a sequence of events that ultimately threatens to ruin the Wingfield family.
“It has been such an exciting opportunity to re-imagine this classic for a contemporary audience and discover the many ways these characters can resonate with people today,” said director Dr. Martha S. LoMonaco, Professor of Visual and Performing Arts. “‘The Glass Menagerie’ is a classic family play that is relevant to the entire community. We all come from families with distinct personalities and can identify with these characters and their struggles.”
As a memory play, nearly all of the events that take place on stage during “The Glass Menagerie” occur in the past, filtered through the memory of the character recounting them: Tom. As such, Tom performs two roles, functioning as both the narrator of the play and a character in it.
The nature of “The Glass Menagerie” as a memory play offers a challenge to audiences since the events of the play are relayed through a man’s subjective and possibly biased memories, but this aspect of the play presents a challenge to the actors as well, particularly the actor playing Tom.
“Being both the narrator and a character in the play has definitely been a challenge,” said Maio. “Tom is a character who undergoes so much change between the two time periods in which the audience sees him—Tom goes from a young man filled with energy and vitality to an older, more experienced and weary person. It is my job to make sure both of these aspects of Tom come across and are believable to audiences.”
While most Theatre Fairfield shows are in production for about three months, “The Glass Menagerie” has been in production for about six months, with auditions having been held last November in conjunction with auditions for Theatre Fairfield’s recent production of “Theatre in the Raw.”
“Though I’ve stage managed before, this experience has been so unique, especially because the cast is so small and the rehearsal process has been so long,” said stage manager Pamela Perrimon ’12. “Even though it’s been challenging as well as a longer commitment, this experience has been so rewarding—it is thrilling to see a production [go] from just an idea to a fully developed show.”
In addition to the aforementioned cast and crew, “The Glass Menagerie” features scenic and lighting designer Karl Ruling, costume designer Julie Leavitt, stage manager Pamela Perrimon ’12, assistant stage manager Kelan McDonnell ’15 and musical director and composer Lance Boos ’11, who has an M.A. in American Studies.
Tickets can be purchased at the Quick Center Box Office: $5 for students, $6 for faculty and seniors and $12 for the general public. To learn more about Theatre Fairfield or their 2011-2012 season, visit http://blog.fairfield.edu/theatrefairfield.
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