The Jungle Theater Presents THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Artistic Director Bain Boehlke brings back THE GLASS MENAGERIE to the Jungle Theater, staging Tennessee Williams' first successful play as the playwright intended: with aspiring poet Tom serving as both narrator and character.

The Glass Menagerie opens September 10 and runs through October 17 at the Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Av. S., Minneapolis.

Erstwhile Southern belle Amanda Wingfield (Wendy Lehr), her painfully shy daughter Laura (Alayne Hopkins), and son Tom (Joshua James Campbell) form a triangle of quiet desperation in Williams' timeless classic. Amanda, an overbearing single mother, lives on memories of her flower-scented youth, while her children bear the weight of her unrealistic dreams for their futures. But when a gentleman caller (Michael Booth) offers false hope to the family, their precarious world shatters with haunting results.

Boehlke selected the award-winning opus for its honored place among the 20th century's greatest plays. "Now that we're post-2000, we have an array of incredible works from the last millennium that are considered classics. If you imagine the repertoire of important 20th century plays as a banquet table, The Glass Menagerie would be the center piece -- a bouquet of blue roses."

Boehlke contributes a stunning two-story set with the iconic fire escape and other elements to bring a gritty realism to the rundown tenement apartment that the dysfunctional Wingfield family calls home. The Jungle's creative team also includes Barry Browning (lighting), Sean Healy (sound), Amelia Cheever (costumes), Wu Chen Khoo (technical) and John Novak (properties and stage management).

In a rundown tenement apartment, erstwhile Southern belle Amanda Wingfield (Wendy Lehn), her painfully shy daughter Laura (Alayne Hopkins), and her aspiring poet son, Tom (Joshua James Campbell), form a triangle of quiet desperation. Amanda, an overbearing single mother, lives on memories of her flower-scented youth, while her children bear the weight of her unrealistic dreams for their future. But when a gentleman caller (Michael Booth) offers false hope to the family, their precarious world shatters with haunting results.

Photos by Ann Marsden