Theatrical Outfit To Present THE GLASS MENAGERIE By Tennessee Williams

Theatrical Outfit will open its 49th season with Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, running October 29 to November 23, 2026, at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s (84 Luckie St. NW, Atlanta). The revival will feature a bold new vision of the beloved Southern classic, directed by Artistic Director Matt Torney, and promises to redefine what it means to stage the “classics” for a modern Atlanta audience.

Described by Time Out as “Tennessee Williams’ greatest play,” The Glass Menagerie is a semi-autobiographical story exploring the tension between memory, illusion, and the weight of family expectation. Set in St. Louis during the Great Depression, the play follows Amanda Wingfield, a faded Southern belle struggling to secure a better future for her children, Tom and Laura, while haunted by dreams of the past and fears of the future.

“I first saw this play as a teenager in Northern Ireland at an amateur theatre, with my mum playing the role of Amanda Wingfield,” says Matt Torney, Artistic Director. “The play broke my heart, but it also dazzled me with its cleverness and creativity. Returning to The Glass Menagerie as an adult is a bittersweet and beautiful experience—it captures themes of loss and longing, of dreams unfulfilled, and of the fragile connections that bind us together.”

Leading the cast is Terry Burrell (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill) as Amanda Wingfield, joined by Devon Hales (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) as Laura, Stephen Ruffin (Tiny Beautiful Things) as Tom, and Matt Mercurio (The Wolf at the End of the Block) as Jim, the Gentleman Caller. The production features dramaturgy by Addae Moon, scenic design by Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay, costume design by April Andrew Carswell, wig design by Antoinette Black, lighting design by Ben Rawson, composition and sound design by Kendall Simpson, and properties design by Caroline Cook, with stage management by Lexi McKay.

Torney adds: “Like no other writer, Williams captures the ache between longing and love. Amanda, Tom, Laura, and Jim are all caught between the worlds of what was and what might have been—but The Glass Menagerie reminds us that beauty and connection are still possible within those fragile spaces.”

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