“Memorable” play comes to Centerstage

By Whitney Davis · The Mainstream
Published November 16, 2011

Another performance is coming to Centerstage beginning in December. “The Glass Menagerie,” by Tennessee Williams, is currently in the rehearsal process.

The four cast members starring in the play are Carina Reeves Blanck, Jake Snyder, Amanda McNulty and Michael Burns.

“I would say that ‘The Glass Menagerie’ doesn’t really have an outright message. There is no big moralistic wrap up, or feel good, deux ex machine style ending,” says Troy Pennington, director.

 Instead of a message, the play has strong recurring themes. The major themes, difficulty of accepting reality, the impossibility of true escape and the power of memory, affect the characters in different ways bringing drama to the play’s simple plot. 

The play’s antagonist is an overbearing mother, Amanda, who strives to give meaning to her life as well as the life of her son and his crippled, unmarried sister, Laura. Amanda’s ineffective methods and nagging drives Tom into alcoholism and leads Laura to retreat into herself. One day, Tom invites Jim, an acquaintance, over for dinner. Jim is an ordinary fellow who is preyed on by Amanda as a potential husband for Laura. Jim and Laura actually get along fine, and Laura begins to awaken from her illusion. This relationship, however, comes to an abrupt end when Jim reveals something near the end of the play.

Instead of the usual eight week rehearsal process, Pennington and Dean Remick, UCC speech and theatre instructor and technical director for the play, are working with only six weeks to produce “The Glass Menagerie.”  They had to get permission for Pennington to direct, because he isn’t a faculty member, and wait for Dramatists Play Service, Inc. to reply for securing the rights to perform the play. Only two days after auditions, they had their first read through and jumped into rehearsals by the end of the week.

“Granted this is only week two, but somehow you always manage to fall behind and start pulling out your hair. Then you go home and start to stress-eat with ice cream and try not to cry. On this production, it’s something we can’t afford to do, and I refused to fall behind,” says Pennington.

Pennington finds a lot of room for a creative set design since the play technically takes place in Tom’s memory. Functioning doors and windows will open and close without confining walls to make up the dingy 1930s apartment of St. Louis, Missouri. Lights, colors and mood music will express the other theatrical aspects of the play.

“I don’t want to spoil everything, but needless to say, it will be very dramatic. Pun intended,” says Pennington.

The play will be performed at the Centerstage Theatre beginning at 7:30 p.m. on December 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 and January 13 and 14. Three afternoon showings will be performed at 2:00 p.m. on December 4, 11 and January 15.