THE GLASS MENAGERIE Comes to Santa Maria, Solvang This Spring and Summer

THE GLASS MENAGERIE, which launched the career of Tennessee Williams, plays in Santa Maria's Severson Theatre March 3 - 20, 2016, and then transfers this summer to the Solvang Festival Theater, June 16-26.

Williams is considered to be among the most prolific and important American playwrights of the 20th century. Director Roger DeLaurier said "it's a gift and a privilege just to get to work on his material and to have the opportunity to introduce new generations to Tennessee Williams and keep him alive for our audience."

Amanda Wingfield is a faded, tragic remnant of Southern gentility who lives in poverty in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura. She frequently reminds them of her idyllic youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued her. Tom is driven nearly to distraction by his mother's nagging and seeks escape in alcohol and the world of the movies. Laura also lives in her illusions surrounded by her glass menagerie and old phonograph records. She is physically 'crippled' and this defect has left her excruciatingly shy, which is intensified even more by her mother's anxiety to see her married. But this world of illusion in the Wingfield family is as fragile as the horn on a glass unicorn and is about to come shattering down around them.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE cast includes PCPA Resident Artists Kitty Balay* as Amanda Wingfield and Matt Koenig as Tom Wingfield, along with Acting Intern Sierra Wells as Laura Wingfield and 2nd-year Conservatory student Jordan Stidham as Jim O'Connor.

The creative team headed by Director Roger DeLaurier includes Scenic Designer Dave Nofsinger, Costume Designer Judith A. Ryerson, Lighting Designer Tim Thistleton, Sound Designer Chuck Hatcher, and Stage Manager Ellen Beltramo.

The popularity of this American gem has remained constant since its inception. THE GLASS MENAGERIE opened on Broadway in 1955 and has had seven New York revivals from 1965 to the present. The most recent was September of 2013 and which received seven Tony nominations and three drama Desk nominations.

Other successful Tennessee Williams plays that followed include A Streetcar Named Desire, Summer and Smoke, The Rose Tattoo, Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Orpheus Descending, Garden District, and Sweet Bird of Youth which collectively earned the playwright two Pulitzer Prizes, three new York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, three Donaldson Awards, and a Tony Award. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

IF YOU GO:

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

March 3 - 20, 2016
At Severson Theatre. 800 S. College Dr., Santa Maria, CA
Times: 1:30 Matinees, 7pm Evenings
Single Tickets: $29.50 - $39.50; Discounts for seniors, students, children, and preview performances (Feb. 11 & 12). Subscription Tickets: $21.00 - $27.00 Santa Maria; $25.00 - $31.50 Solvang. (Must purchase a minimum of four productions in the season.)
Box Office: Wednesday - Sunday, 12:30 - 7pm - (805) 922-8313 or online at www.pcpa.org

June 16 - 26, 2016
At Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd Street, Solvang, CA
Times: All performances 8pm
Tickets $38.50 - $49.50; Discounts for seniors, students, children, and preview performances (June 16 & 17). Subscription Tickets: $21.00 - $27.00 Santa Maria; $25.00 - $31.50 Solvang. (Must purchase a minimum of four productions in the season.)
Box Office: Wednesday - Sunday, 12:30 - 7pm - (805) 922-8313 or online at www.pcpa.org

For over 51 years, PCPA, a professional conservatory theatre, has infused the national theatre scene with thousands of trained actors and theatrical technicians.