2011 marks the centennial of Tennessee Williams’ birth, and there are readings and productions of “The Glass Menagerie” everywhere. But few if any will outdo the production at 1st Stage, where a balanced ensemble of actors neatly reflects Williams’ exploration of family ties. This roughly autobiographical play takes place in and near the Wingfield apartment in St. Louis before and after World War II. The narrator is Tom (Lucas Beck), a would-be writer who is forced to work in a shoe factory to bring in enough money to support his mother, Amanda Wingfield (Elizabeth Pierotti) and sister, Laura (Leigh Patton).
| Onstage |
| ‘The Glass Menagerie’ |
| Where: 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Rd., McLean |
| When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 7 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; through April 17 |
| Info: 703-854-1856, 1ststagespringhill.org |
Tom is the de facto head of household, as his father deserted the family years earlier. But every day that he has to work at the factory angers him and alienates him from his nattering mother, whom he resents, and his sister, whom he adores. Laura, who suffered from pleurisy in high school, walks with a limp and rarely leaves the house.
Amanda, remembering her days as a popular Southern belle, urges Tom to bring a friend home from the factory to court Laura. Tom eventually brings his buddy Jim (David Winkler) to dinner, but the visit has disastrous consequences.
“The Glass Menagerie” is an extremely poetic play, and Williams knew how to create scenes that seem to hover in the memory as well as exist in real life. Directed by Dawn McAndrews, the cast at 1st Stage bring that delicate, dreamlike quality to life.
Lucas Beck is superb as Tom. Beck makes Tom’s sardonic, restless attitude to his existence immediately apparent from the first moments of the play, when he appears to set the events of his life, and America’s place in the world, in historical context.
Beck creates a lovely relationship with Laura, who spends most of her time playing with her “menagerie” of glass figurines. Patton perfectly captures Laura’s painfully shy personality, making her self-consciousness credible and understandable.
Pierotti portrays the third character in the Wingfield family triangle, Amanda, with the all the ferocity and authority Williams intended, but also with the ability to turn on the Southern-belle charm on a moment’s notice. Pierotti took over the role days before the opening and was using a script at the time of this review, but she’s in charge of the role and will soon be book-free.
The Gentleman Caller, whom Tom invites home for dinner, is sensitively played by Winkler, who is particularly effective as he explains his hunger for money and power.
In its reflection of Williams’ ability to illuminate memory, loneliness, dreams and hope, this 1st Stage production should be at the top of the list for anyone hungry to understand Williams’ work.
