The Glass Menagerie

It wasn’t so long ago that THE GLASS MENAGERIE was on Broadway (2005 to be exact) with Jessica Lang. I was mesmerized by that production, as imperfect as it was. Something about Jessica Lang was magical and the poetry of the play really shined. This time, in a new Roundabout production Off Broadway, the casting of the kids was preferable and the durable Judith Ivey was perfectly admirable as Amanda, but the extra something magical was missing. Director Gordon Edelstein made his mark on the production by having “Tom” typing and reading out his speeches as if he were composing the play before us. Now he was “Tom” as in Tennessee Williams. He was also gay. Actually, this production showed me for the first time how much of what Tom says indicates that he is gay––it wasn’t just Patch Darragh’s line readings, though he clearly played the role as if the character were harboring the dark secret. Knowing the playwright’s history, this seems like a no-brainer, but I promise you that no Tom before now that I have seen explored this character as troubled by his homosexuality. Usually Tom is simply burdened by his duty to take care of his mother and disabled sister since the father figure left home and this has seemed problematic enough. Now there was an extra layer and Tom’s lines have never made more sense. Keira Keeley, a frail looking girl, played Laura beautifully with a quirky vocal tick that enhanced her peculiarity. Michael Mosely was the “Gentleman Caller,” Jim, and lived up to the description given by the other characters before he shows up. He bounced with the energy of a go-getter, his own biggest fan, but the only character of the play who is not delusional. Mr. Mosely’s gusto and genuine charm made the revelation of his impending marriage all the more heartbreaking for Laura when her dreams are dashed. I usually love set designer Michael Yeargan, but the simplicity of his set made it seem like he was under too much of a budget crunch rather than looking like something executed with completion. Any community theater could have managed it. Although, the back wall of the tenement flat was actually a scrim, so that Judith Ivey could suddenly appear as if a ghost from the past. This play is over sixty years old now and it has lost none of its power. If in another five years we get another New York revival of this classic, it will be equally as welcome