Harris and Harrison to Star in Guthrie's Glass Menagerie

The Guthrie Theater has announced the complete cast for The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by Joe Dowling, featuring Tony Award-winning actress Harriet Harris and "Queer as Folk" star Randy Harrison.  The Glass Menagerie begins previews January 20 and runs through March 25 on the Guthrie's McGuire Proscenium Stage.

Rounding out the cast are local and Guthrie favorites Jonas Goslow, Tracey Maloney and Bill McCallum.  

Broadway and television veteran Harriet Harris, who will play Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, was a Guthrie company member in the 1980s, playing such roles as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Elmire in Tartuffe. Harris' Broadway credits include Four Baboons Adoring the Sun, The Man Who Came to Dinner and Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was awarded the 2002 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She is well known for her recurring roles as Bebe Glazer on the TV series "Frasier" and as Felicia Tilman on ABC's hit television show "Desperate Housewives."

Randy Harrison, who will play Tom Wingfield, is best known for his role as Justin Taylor on Showtime's television drama "Queer as Folk." His theater credits include Wicked on Broadway, A Midsummer Night's Dream (SITI Company/Alabama Shakespeare Festival), A Letter from Ethel Kennedy (Manhattan Class Company), Amadeus and Equus (Berkshire Theatre Festival). Harrison is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music.

"In a story revealed through memory and haunted by an absent father, The Glass Menagerie glimpses the Wingfield family's struggle to hold its ground in 1939 St. Louis. Amanda, the matriarch of the family, is trying to maintain her dignity and provide for the future in the midst of the Great Depression. Her son Tom denies his own dreams to become the reluctant breadwinner after his father ran out on the family while his frail sister Laura has retreated to a homebound life where she finds comfort caring for her collection of little glass animals. The arrival of Jim, a 'gentleman caller,' at the Wingfield residence could be a sign of hope or a disturbance that will shatter their fragile home. A masterpiece of compassionate insight and distinctive theatrical vitality, The Glass Menagerie was Williams' first successful play and one of his best lyric dramas," state Guthrie notes.

The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. To purchase tickets or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Theater Box Office between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily at (612) 377-2224 or toll-free (877) 44 STAGE.

Tickets are priced from $22 to $52 and are on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at www.guthrietheater.org.