THE GLASS MENAGERIE - MARK TAPER FORUM

An excellent rewarding evening of theater. Judith Ivey's performance soars - really extraordinary work, the kind that theater legends are made of. Patch Darragh brings such vitality to his role - pathos, intensity and insecurity course through the veins of his Tom Wingfield.

Did I actually read on another thread that someone was questioning if Tom was gay....I've always thought that was the case - ever since reading the play in high school.

Strong confident standout performance from Benjamin McKenzie - really awe inspiring to see this generation of thirty something male actors really stepping it up on the stage ( Just a few months ago here at The Taper, Chris Pine nailed it in The Lieutenant of Inishmore.)

Thought he was great on The OC and really showed off his chops in Junebug...and kudos to Keira Keeley who's broken Laura comes alive when gentleman caller Jim comes to visit - as does brother Tom.
Funny, moving, dramatic yet all the time very real - this memory play should be a requisite for anyone who loves the theater.
The staging is fantastic but the piece is actually not performanced on an elevated stage - as have all of the productions I've seen at The Taper - so when youre sitting close to the stage - literally you are in the actors level of vision...it brings a further intensity to Gordon Edelstein's staging. SPOILER (do we need to that to for this show?? The scene where the lights go out in the second act - so masterfully directed...)
Go see this production - its historic and one of the best pieces of theater ive seen

...oh but be forwarnd, the first act is LONG - like 1hr40min kinda LONG. Its not boring but it does feel a bit long.

More classics like this at The Taper...Please continue to mix it up with a "modern" classic like this (Subject Was Roses -- maybe another Tennese Williams revival) along with those fantastic new plays with bold new voices (Distracted, Bengal Tiger...)

Updated On: 9/7/10 at 01:09 AM

going back to my high school class when i read the play....i remember the TW of Tom Wingfield and Tennesse Williams was no accident...
a superb production, the classic production of this play...now if only i could get a chance to see some other Tennesse Williams....

Pics from the production

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I saw in NY this past spring and was totally enthralled. It's my favorite Williams play, and I felt like I was seeing it for the first time, it was that fresh.

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I saw it tonight and this is a ***** show with tour de force acting by all the principals: Patch Darragh; Judith Ivey; Keira Keeley and Ben McKenzie. I loved them all! This production with its staging set in a hotel room in New Orleans which then opens a door into the Wingfield family in their tenement in St. Louis sets this production apart from those that have been done previously. It really does make the character of Tom Wingfield/Tennessee Williams really stand out. I found myself more interested in him than in Amanda and that hasn't happened for me in any previous productions that I've seen. That last scene looking through the doorway with Tom calling out to Laura to blow out the candles was really heartbreaking. If you live in LA this is one theatrical production that is a must see!

Not to be a buzzkill, but I saw the second-to-last performance this afternoon and loathed the production. Edelstein's gimmick of setting the whole thing in Tom's New Orleans hotel room was pointless, pretentious, and added nothing to the play. I missed the atmosphere of the apartment, which is so visceral in the text and nonexistent here. I think in order for the play to work, we need to SEE the cluttered tenement filled with relics of the characters' past. The intimacy of the family living together in close quarters was lost, and there was no sense of urgency to Amanda's master plan with the gentleman caller.

Ivey was fine but she didn't blow me away - the production's fault, not hers. I think she could be astonishing with the right director. Patch Darragh was full of stereotypically gay tics and quirks, all queeny posture and mincing hand movements. An obvious hint at Williams's sexuality that was too obvious and on-the-nose. Keira Keeley played Laura as slow, not meek. At times she seemed like Clara in A LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA.

The standout, however, was Ben McKenzie. Great voice, accent, and real theatrical presence. The others had a tendency to garble their dialogue and at times didn't enunciate loudly enough (the show is not heavily miked). He was terrific and got a huge hand at the curtain call. Hopefully Broadway will take notice, as he can certainly hold his own with seasoned stage actors.

Anyone here see it at the Roundabout or Long Wharf? I came in wanting to enjoy it, but the whole concept was so foolish I couldn't be brought around. Edelstein didn't trust the material and the whole thing just laid there.

Updated On: 10/17/10 at 10:43 PM

Is there anything in the text to suggest this?

I just found the John Lahr review (link below), which is pretty much right on the money in my opinion.
Telling It Like It Isn’t