Review: THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Center Rep

The Glass Menagerie

By Tennessee Williams

Directed by Matt M. Morrow

Center Rep

A large portrait of Mr. Wingfield looms over the family he abandoned years ago, his eyes blurred out, unable to see the wreckage and chaos he’s caused. In Center Rep’s 59th season opener, Tennessee Williams’ searing memory play unfolds under the crushing weight of a son’s guilt, a daughter’s insecurity, and a mother’s lost dreams of beauty and security. Not for the faint of heart, The Glass Menagerie, under the keen direction of Artistic Director Matt M. Morrow, is in a way uplifting in that it’s happening to them, not us.

Tom Wingfield (Cody Sloan) narrates from his tortured memory. Unable to deal with the pressures of being the breadwinner for this mother and sister, and hoping for some kind of life, he abandons his family for the merchant marines. He’s the “bastard son of a bastard “, crushed under the weight of obligation and his aspirations. His sister Laura (Alanna Darby) fares no better. She’s crippled both physically and mentally, living in a fantasy world of low-functioning insecurity. Her menagerie of tiny glass figurines is her only accomplishment, a respite from the constant harassment from her mother.

Williams’ works are often autobiographical, drawing from his histrionic mother and ailing sister. Here the matriarch Amanda, wonderfully realized by Nancy Carlin, is a faded Southern belle, fully reminiscing about the glory of her youth and praying that Laura can marry and save the family. Her devotion to her children has made her almost hateful towards them.

Much of the play centers on family relationships and is emotionally stultifying. The only hope that surfaces is a dinner with a gentleman caller, hopefully a chance for Laura to marry. Amanda is over the top, Laura is hesitant as the suitor is an old school acquaintance, and Tom sees this as an opportunity to exit gracefully. Jim (Rob Fagin) instantly sees Laura’s inferiority and gives her advice and compliments, something she has never encountered.Fagin adds the plays real tether non reality - he's a go-getter grabbing at life and its possibilities. Sloan's Tom is repressed anger, Darby, who's trans, displays the a creepy awkwardness that has become her natural state, and Carlin's Amanda is as delusional as William's other Belle Blanche Dubois. 

Jim is engaged though and makes his hasty exit. Laura is crushed and Amanda lashes out at Tom. It’s the last straw for Tom and the play ends unresolved and without any hope. Morrow does add a touching moment as the two siblings hold hands even though Tom is long gone. Their bond may be the only real love in the entire piece. The actors make their characters live and their hopelessness is clearly palpable. Beautifully set in Yi-Chien Lee’s impoverished tenement apartment, Spense Matubang’s haunting lighting and Yuki Izumihara’s projections of William’s themes, The Glass Menagerie remains one of the American classics of dreamlike expressionism and symbolism.

The Glass Menagerie continues through September 27th. Tickets and information available at www.centerrep.org or by calling 925-943-7469.

Photo credits: Kevin Berne