The Glass Menagerie Opening this Weekend

BY BRAD STOREY –

This weekend will be the only chance to see Ouachita Little Theatre’s production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, a classic American drama about an unusual family living in St. Louis in the 1930s.

Williams created his characters, to a certain extent, as mirrors of his own life. His play concerns a lower middle class family, the Wingfields, who live in a small apartment with a fire escape serving as their front porch. The family consists of the mother, Amanda, and her two children, both in their early twenties. Tom, the son, works in a warehouse and yearns to find some adventure in his life, but so far has only found it at the movie theater. Laura, the daughter, is terribly shy, limps slightly, and rarely leaves the house. Amanda, having been abandoned 16 years before by her husband, struggles with both love and worry for her two children. In real life, Tennessee Williams, whose actual first name was Tom, had a mostly absentee father, an intense mother, and a disadvantaged sister.

Williams brings life to this drama by having Amanda, who remembers her own gracious southern upbringing, realize that the only chance for Laura to have a normal life is to have Tom bring home one of the fellows from the warehouse to meet his sister. He does so, creating for his 24-year-old sister her very first “gentleman caller.”

The play will be performed only four times: Friday, Saturday, Sunday afternoon, and Monday; 7:30 evenings, 2:30 on Sunday. OLT’s cast consists of Katelin Haines as Amanda, Austin Kain as Tom, Katie O’Rear as Laura, and Ethan Moe as the gentleman caller. Nicholas Worth plays Tom on Saturday night and Tara Cornelius plays Laura on Monday night.

This is the first time that OLT has presented a play with only a week between productions, having just finished a two week run of Bell, Book, and Candle. If you have never seen one of Tennessee Williams’ creations, you might consider coming to this. Williams’ portrayal of real life on the stage is second to none.

The play is directed by Brad Storey and assisted by Jefferson Smith. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Information at (479) 234-2321.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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