Interview: Norah Long of THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Theater Latté Da

Theater Latté Da is gearing up to present a new iteration of Tennessee Williams' classic, The Glass Menagerie and it promises to be a must see production.  Broadway World was lucky enough to catch up with one of its stars, Norah Long, who will take on the role of Amanda. Below is that conversation:

BW: Norah, you have played such remarkable roles in your time on stage, what makes The Glass Menagerie such an alluring piece to you?

NL: I relish roles that are complex, demanding, and chock full of messy humanity. Amanda is a perfect opportunity to play in that big, messy sandbox. And, it's my first dance with Tennessee Williams, so you gotta take that hand when it's offered!

BW: What do you hope to bring to the character of Amanda that may be different than other performers have brought to the role?

NL: I haven't set out to consciously differentiate my performance from others'. But I interpret all my roles as I feel them, resisting prescriptive or imitative work. So I hope that in bringing my authentic, intuitive self to this iconic character, audiences will see something freshly human and relatable in Amanda.

BW: Latté Da’s production promises to be a completely new interpretation of the source material. How has that process been in rehearsals? Has it been a collaboration between actor and director or more of you fitting into a predetermined structure?

NL: It's definitely been collaborative. We have a spectacular team of humans in the room who are fully game to dive into exploration and co-creation, and Justin as a director is confident enough to welcome our voices. Ultimately, he gets the final say, of course. But the beauty of trusting all the brains in the room is that, well, he gets all the brains in the room! It's so exciting and impressive to watch my colleagues' creativity come to life in more ways than "just" acting, and the more we explore, the further we want to go. We're not going TOO avant-garde, though -- you'll still see era-appropriate costumes and furniture, but with additional elements to offset the linear and heighten the experience and impact.

BW: What do you hope the audience takes away from this piece?

NL: In the spirit of Picasso's Guernica which is on our inspo board, I shy from prescribing a takeaway beyond that people see, hear, experience, and absorb it, then reflect on whatever imprint it leaves on them. Even the narrator of our play isn't quite sure what the truth of his own story is. All he knows is, he's haunted by it and trying to understand why.

One imprint I personally experience is the malleability of memory and perspective. Whether past or present, everyone sees the same situations differently. I feel for these characters who misunderstand each other and for whom reality is blurry, unreliable, and very differently perceived. In our country today and in The Glass Menagerie, polarization is acute. But no one is entirely good or bad, wrong or right, as much as we like to frame each other that way. Without painstaking focus -- listening, witnessing, lowering our defenses -- an arm's length between us can become a chasm which only magnifies our misunderstanding and strands us without solutions.

BW: Having worked in many cities across the country, what draws you to continue to do theater in the Twin Cities?

NL: I love my Twin Cities community! The people are kind and the arts scene is deep, diverse, and full of rich opportunities. Because most theaters here are not-for-profit, our work isn’t as beholden to the almighty dollar, so we can take risks, experiment, push the envelope, and focus on creating art that feeds the soul rather than chasing large box-office returns. It's a glorious thing to work in a community where so much new work is being created and where so much existing work is being recreated in surprising, vital ways. Yay, Twin Cities!

BW: Fun question: What is the one role that you would love to play (any role in any show) and why? -

NL: Oh, that's a tough one -- there are just so many! I've been lucky to play a ton of great roles already. Give me any role with psychological complexity, strength, charisma, humor, vulnerability, -- all the juicy stuff -- and I'd be delighted. And, I mean, okay, yeah, I'd take Lady M.

Broadway World thanks Norah and the team at Theater Latté Da for allowing us access to their cast and creative team. 

The Glass Menagerie runs February 4 - March 1, 2026.