The Glass Menagerie Reviews

When we first see the Wingfield family together in the splendid production of “The Glass Menagerie” that has now opened on Broadway, Zachary Quinto is sitting at the dinner table holding his hands behind his back, as if in a straitjacket; all that’s missing is the gag — a precise physical representation of how his character Tom feels in the stifling, impoverished household of his family in St. Louis in the 1930?s. Celia Keenan-Bolger sits with her back terribly straight, her hands primly in her lap, as if under the watchful eye of an ever-reprimanding schoolmaster, which is surely how her character Laura feels. And Cherry Jones gestures as if she is conducting an orchestra, the broad sweep of her arms showing a strong woman in command of her family. Only later does the thought occur: Her Amanda is using her hands this way to maintain her balance, to keep from falling down.
The Glass Menagerie on Broadway Review