Emily Goss and Gigi Birmingham (Craig Schwartz photography)
Reviewed by G. Bruce Smith
Antaeus Theatre Company
Through June 2
RECOMMENDED
When I think of Tennessee Williams’ heartbreakingly beautiful play The Glass Menagerie, I recall an early memory of mine. I’m 8 years old, living with my diplomat family in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and my mother is rehearsing the role of Amanda, the matriarch in Menagerie, in our living room. I didn’t really understand the play, but it nevertheless had a profound impact on me; in fact, I believe it had a role in my future as a theater artist. And it feels somehow poetic that I look back at my first exposure to Williams’ memory play through my own gauzy powers of recollection.
So I am predisposed to love this semi-autobiographical American classic, and Antaeus Theatre Company’s superb production has made me fall even more deeply in love with it.
Menagerie opens with a monologue by Tom Wingfield (Josh Odsess-Rubin, who bears a strong resemblance to a young Williams), who is both the narrator and one of three main characters. It is 1930s Depression-era St. Louis, and 20-something Tom lives with his domineering mother Amanda (Gigi Bermingham) and his painfully shy, slightly disabled sister Laura (Emily Goss).
Tom feels suffocated by his mother and by his boring job in a warehouse. He wants to escape St. Louis and live an adventurous life but feels obligated to help his single mother and unemployed sister survive financially.
Amanda is strong-willed, opinionated and relives her days as a Southern belle who received as many as 17 “gentleman callers” in a single day but ended up marrying a man who deserted his family when Tom and Laura were still young.
Fragile Laura lives in her own world, tending to her delicate miniature animal glass collection and playing worn-out records on the Victrola.
When Amanda discovers that Laura has dropped out of business college without telling her, she is furious – and desperate. She had hoped that Laura could find a trade so that she could live on her own because her prospects of getting a husband seemed remote. With this crushing revelation, Amanda changes course and asks Tom to see if he can arrange for a “gentleman caller” to come to the Wingfield home in the hope that he might woo Laura. Tom obliges by asking his co-worker Jim O’Connor (Alex Barlas) — a charming and ambitious man — to come over for dinner.
What transpires in the interaction between Jim and Laura — which is riveting in both sweet and hope-filled ways — determines the futures of the Wingfield trio.
In Menagerie, Williams has penned a finely crafted work as delicately rendered as Laura’s glass collection – with rich and complex characters. Yes, Amanda is annoyingly overbearing, but she wants the best for her adult children. She nags Tom relentlessly about his mysterious visits every night to the movie theater and accuses him of drinking too much. In turn, Tom lashes out at her. Some of this interplay is humorous (in fact, there is a fair number of funny bits throughout the play), but it is grounded in love — for each other and for Laura.
Director Carolyn Ratteray brings Menagerie to life with a deep understanding of the layers of the text. She leads a superbly talented cast with what appears to have been a light hand — allowing each actor to discover the richness of their characters.
Odsess-Rubin as Tom is not only the poetic voice of the piece — he skillfully portrays a youthful desire for adventure at odds with his soul-crushing job and a not-hopeful vision of Laura’s future. There is never a dull moment watching Bermingham as Amanda, as she ricochets from the ghost of a Southern belle to a determined protector of her family. As Laura, Goss gives a hauntingly fragile and heartbreaking performance. Barlas brings positive energy — and surprising sensitivity — to his portrayal of Jim O’Connor.
Scenic designer Angela Balogh Calin’s has created a set that evokes a modest 1930s era apartment and made an interesting choice in creating walls that contain undecipherable handwriting that perhaps invoke Williams’ own. Beautiful lighting by Karyn Lawrence subtly enhances the contrast between the “memory” part of the play and events in the present. Original music by John Ballinger, heightened by Jeff Gardner’s sound design, also underscores the delicate tone of the work.
Antaeus Theatre Company, 110 East Broadway, Glendale. See website for schedule. antaeus.org. Running time; two hours and 15 minutes with an intermission.
