"Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but
I am more faithful than I intended to be."
---Tom Wingfield, "The Glass Menagerie," by
Tennessee Williams
Somewhere, out in some nameless dimension of Time and Space, which some may call the Afterlife, a nightly ritual takes place. A garrulous, middle aged woman, and her painfully shy, yet inwardly beautiful daughter, perform a nightly ritual. They set the table for dinner, eat the meal, spend the evening together, and go to bed. Then they repeat it all over again. They will go on repeating this, as far as I am concerned, uninterrupted, for all Eternity.
Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" gives we, the audience, a glimpse into not only that little piece of Eternity, but what led up to it. It is a journey the audience takes, and, of course, I suppose, it is a template of one's personality whom one takes that journey with.
Four more superb guides leading that journey could not be asked for. This quartet is not only the best dramatic ensemble working on Broadway, the best I have seen in years, they present what is probably, in our lifetimes, girls, the best production of "The Glass Menagerie" ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!
Part of this comes from the staging of director John Tiffany, and the set and costume designs of Bob Crowley!!!!!!!!! I will not elaborate on the staging, so as not to deprive one of its surprises and delights. However, near the end, I looked Heavenwards, and was fascinated by the rays of light peering into the Wingfield apartment. A symbol of hope for the future????????
Maybe that was my wish, because of whom I chose to take my journey with, and that was Laura. Celia Keenan-Bolger is a revelation in the role; after all her musical theater work, this may be the performance that does it for her. I felt as if I was entering into Laura's world as I watched her, a feeling both exciting and disquieting. My heart goes out to Laura, and this is due to how Celia plays her, with just a touch of self-awareness, all the more tragic because she somehow senses she cannot break out of that shell, just as Tom (Zachary Quinto) knows he must break from his!!!!!!!!!!! I would love to wear Laura's outfits, darlings! And Celia looks great in them!!!!! It took me several hours to detoxify from this performance; the look of pained bewilderment on her face haunts me still. As well as the brief look of hope, as she dances, I mean really dances, for a time, with Gentleman Caller Jim O'Connor (Brian J. Smith). The entire cast is up to Celia, darlings, but I just could not tear my eyes from her!!!!!!!!!!
Perhaps I am partial to Laura, because I recall a time when I felt myself just like her, and so can empathize. People tell me I could never be Laura, nor was really her, but, just as Laura felt she was crippled, but no one else realized it, so I felt myself as Laura. Which is why Celia is so painfully beautiful to watch. It is like watching a part of my past that I thought existed.
Now, I was a little worried when Zachary Quinto, as Tom, began the opening monologue. But, somewhere into it, something clicked--for him, for myself? hard to tell--and he emerges as the best Tom Wingfield I have seen. He is the polar opposite of Laura, which is maybe why I did not feel as much for him; even if you have never seen the play, you sense, early on, he will inevitably break out, and escape. Which he does. And which the opening defines. His is the most sarcastic and cynical Tom I have seen; he has Amanda's number, and does not hesitate to let her know it. On some level, these two need each other to battle with, because, on some level they are strong willed equals. Which is also why they cannot co-exist under the same roof!
Brian J. Smith is also the best Jim I have seen; he does come off as very ordinary, though attractive in his own way. I have never ached more for Laura than in his dance with her; I have never felt more keenly here that I wanted history to be rewritten, and for Laura to find happiness. And we realize she can!!!!!!!!! But when plans go South, (no pun intended!!!!!!) the cage is finally closed on Laura's trap!
But, as actors, they can sure share the stage with Cherry Jones--and that is no small feat!!!!!!! In some ways, her Amanda is the most humane, and least Gorgon-ish, that I have seen. She wants what all parents do for their children; she just does not see that these children will never fall in with the conventions of their time! But still she tries, though I could not, and cannot, ever forgive her, near the end, when she hurls that dreaded word, "crippled," at her daughter!!!!!!!!! I have seldom been so fascinated by the way an actor uses their hands, as I was with Cherry as Amanda.. And when the dust has settled, when Tom has finally run off, one cannot be quite sure what will happen (unless you want to read the real life Williams Legacy into it). Preferring to keep the fictional context of the Wingfields, I believe that the for now crushed Amanda will pull herself up, like a true Steel Magnolia, and find a way for both she and Laura to go on.
Which brings me back to that ritual of Eternity. Perhaps Amanda will work out their situations. Or perhaps, they will just have each other, for Eternity, to take care of each other. Both need that, darlings, and they may be the only ones on whom each can rely.
This "Glass Menagerie" offers so much to ponder on. It deserves the over-used phrase it has been given, "a fully realized production." There is something here for every theatergoer to treasure in their hearts. For me, it is that image I have chosen to use here, of Celia as Laura, peering into her glass world, looking and searching for an acceptance of the world and her place in it. I love Laura, and I love Celia in the role!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whether or not the Wingfields find solace is for each person to decide. But this production of "The Glass Menagerie" finds its focus once it gets going, and never lets up till those candles are blown out.
There is no other way to say it. It is a revelation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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