ashland theater review - Glass Menage 2004

Ashland Theater Review

Theater: Artattack Theatre Ensemble
Show: The Glass Menagerie
Run Dates: December 6, 2004
Review by: Steve Heiman

Written near the end of WWII and first staged in Chicago in 1944, The Glass Menagerie became an instant American Classic when it hit Broadway the next year, catapulting author Thomas Lanier (Tennessee) Williams to national acclaim and winning the New York Drama Critic’s Circle award for the best play of 1945. Casting new light on this often produced memory play is no simple task, yet one that Artattack Theater Ensemble and Director Justin Lockwood has succeeded in brilliantly.
A relatively simple story of a broken family, the play centers on the fragile and introverted life of Laura (Nicole Strykowski), who sees the world through eyes tainted with insecurity and fear. While autism had not yet been fully diagnosed in 1944 there are overtones that Laura suffers from some light form of autism, as well as her physical handicap (a lame leg), and she withdraws when forced to interact with circumstances beyond her everyday environment. All but trapped within her house with a well-meaning but tyrannical mother, she retreats into her world of outdated music and her collection of miniature glass animals. The play is loosely biographical, as Williams himself had a sister who suffered from mental instabilities, and the delicate yet substantial bond between Laura and her ‘independent’ brother Tom is an integral part of this beautiful script.
The play is told from the remorseful perspective of Tom after many years have passed, and we see his sister and mother not just as they were, but also as he now remembers them, with a fuller understanding and greater empathy. This is where director Lockwood finds true genius, as he incorporates most of Williams Director notes directly into older Tom’s remembrances, revealing nuances and depth that is not normally part of the script. Lockwood also makes the daring yet obvious choice of splitting this character into two roles, with one actor playing older Tom (Douglas Mitchell) and another playing younger Tom (Adam Cuppy). Mitchell is simply marvelous as the emotionally torn older Tom, his demeanor and voice anguished as he recalls his youthful folly. Most especially poignant are the moments as he wanders through the remembered environment of his youth, watching as his memories unfold. Chills ran up and down my spine when he offers the occasional response in place of the younger Tom. Cuppy brings forth a younger Tom nearly brimming over with frustration that is wonderfully tempered by his devotion to his sister. The subtext, which amply points to his covert homosexual tendencies, is treated with suggestive subtlety, but Cuppy’s best moment comes when his repressed anger finally erupts and we see his true level of angst at his mother's dominion.
Linda Otto as the mother Amanda epitomizes everything that is wrong with blind fundamentalism; a good ‘Christian woman’ Amanda flaunts her southern attitudes and mores like a peacock showing its feathers, all for show. She is a “bird-like woman without a nest, living on the crust of humility” and she cannot abide by any perspective that might contradict her worldview, even ostracizing her own son for a relatively minor disagreement. She enables Laura’s social disabilities by treating her like a simple child, and yet is simultaneously lost in her fantasy of a ‘gentleman caller’ coming and sweeping Laura off into the perfect life that deserted her when her husband walked out the door. While the script makes this character considerably outdated, her underlying fundamentalism, need for control, and inability to understand another perspective are sadly still present in much of today’s culture.
Strykowski is exquisite as the remote and mournful Laura, giving her character a delicate and easily bruised nature. What is most fascinating about this role is that the wonder and joy of life, hidden by Laura’s outward demeanor, are still present, revealed in her simple love of music and art. Strykowski floats about the stage like an insubstantial ghost, her movement and voice tremulous and uncertain, most especially when confronting her mother, yet she leaves an indelible imprint of beauty and sweetness upon our psyches. When a gentleman finally does come calling (Dale Nakagawa) Strykowski's slow acceptance of him is patient and believable. Nakagawa as Jim (a coworker of Tom) is perhaps a touch too curt in movement and voice to let us believe Laura will open up to him, but is engaging and very comfortable on stage nonetheless. He has some great comic moments as he meets the Amanda and her amazing ability to talk a mile a minute.
Director Lockwood places Tom’s memory characters in an all white environment, an effective and beautiful comment on the simple purity of Laura. All white costumes and a wonderful lighting design complete this simple yet elegant set, and keep the focus on the characters themselves as they struggle to find meaning in their lives. With virtually no props, including the glass menagerie itself, Lockwood forces us to engage both our minds and our imaginations, and perhaps allowing us to open a window on our own illusions and imaginary faults.
Each of the characters lives is obscured by illusion; Laura’s stem from her autistic mind set and her overwhelming fear; her mother is lost in remembrances of the past and her fantasies of the future; Tom’s illusions stem from his desperate need to escape the depressing reality of his life. Both children secretly despise their controlling mother, but neither can authentically confront her. Tom seeks a solution outside while Laura retreats to her inner landscape. Today we know much more about autism, as well as depression and many other mental disorders, and it is a fair assessment to say that in some small way, we are each of us blinded by our own illusions, for we each see the world in a completely unique and untranslatable manner, refracted through our own subjective worldview. This play clearly reminds us of the importance of speaking our truth and of the consequences that our actions have. Written over half a decade ago, The Glass Menagerie still has relevance and meaning in our modern culture, and the Artattack Theatre Ensemble succeeds in bridging the generation gap of this touching and beautiful play.