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Williams' vision of an American dream turned nightmare is echoed in every aspect of UCDHSC's production.
UCDHSC's Theater department has a long-running history of producing well-known plays that have been retrofitted to encompass modern day political turmoil, gender politics, and the shifting value system of a consumer culture. These have included Ionesco's Rhinoceros, where Nazis became icons of Western capitalism such as Starbucks and Wal-mart; Sophocles' Antigone, subtly transformed into a modern, anti-war vehicle; and Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, reworked to explore the boundaries of gender identity. This season, Director and Associate Professor Laura Cuetara once again sheds new light on an old favorite, this time with Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.
The play is set in 1930s St. Louis of the Great Depression, and is from early on referred to as a "memory play" by its narrator Tom Wingfield, played by Daniel Cummings. The play unfolds from Tom's own memories: those of his early adulthood spent supporting his mother and sister after the desertion of their father, "a telephone man who fell in love with long distance." Tom longs for a life of passion, adventure, and literary greatness, but he is forced to live the life of a factory drudge by Amanda (Chantelle Frazier), the overbearing mother constantly lost in her own nostalgia for the days when she was bell of the ball, and by his sister Laura (Amber Moffett) who finds herself disabled both by overwhelming shyness and a crippled leg.
While Tom dreams of escape, Amanda dreams of finding a suitable husband for her daughter: a knight in shining armor to lift Laura out of her shyness and the family out of its ruin. As the plot develops, the audience is treated not only to a growing awareness of what's at stake for the Wingfields, but also a look back at the plight of the countless families pushed below the poverty line by the Great Depression.
While the piece hardly needs updating to maintain its heart-wrenching look at the aftermath of disaster, Cuetara sees the play as more relevant now than ever before. With the Gulf Coast still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and Denver's own foreclosure crisis sending housing rates rocketing, the Wingfields' struggle is hauntingly familiar. Williams' vision of an American dream turned nightmare is echoed in every aspect of UCDHSC's production.
Despite early problems with the set, the cast and crew of The Glass Menagerie have created a truly unique space in the heart of the Eugenia Rawls Courtyard Theater. According to Cuetara, the lack of a physical backdrop allowed the actors to create their own space using vintage props (including a working Victrola record player) and other furniture pieces, such as a believably antique roll-top desk.
This kind of immersion in a piece fits perfectly with Cuetara's own directing style; early in rehearsals, she asked the actors to bring in photos they felt resonated in the world of the play. The images were then pieced together to create one vast storyboard, a virtual window into the thought processes of the students. Cuetara looks on the early set difficulties as a veiled opportunity and believes that it has created a deeper level of commitment, and ultimately, a deeper level of experience for the students involved.
The Eugenia Rawls Courtyard Theater itself offers a unique space: To give the apartment a feeling of complete isolation, the orchestra pit was opened as far down as the theater's basement, which provides the effect of allowing actors to climb up to the stoop. This, combined with the apartment's floor jutting out over the pit, also emphasizes the idea of a sanctuary imprisoning its tenants, again remarking on the Hurricane Katrina disaster and echoing the news footage showing stranded citizens atop building roofs, waiting for the help that for many, would never come.
The need for historical authenticity is one apparent not only in the set and props, but also in the costumes and music. Instructor and Costume Designer Janetta Turner arrays the cast in authentic period garb saved from drabness by its perfect affinity to each character. In Amanda, the diminished Southern belle, echoes of great beauty and refinement linger-though her party has been over for twenty years. Tom is clad in layers upon layers, reflecting that he not only hides from his family, but from himself. The mysterious gentleman (James Denton) caller arriving after intermission is, appropriately enough, garbed in neutral tones, while Laura surprisingly wears the brightest colors, hinting that much like her favorite glass unicorn, her charm could surface if only she were held up to the right light.
While many are under the impression that the political, economic, and societal conditions earned plays like The Glass Menagerie a memorable place in the canon of American theater, UCDHSC has proven, yet again, that no play is ever truly obsolete.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams King Center Eugenia Rawls Theater September 27-29 and October 4-6 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $12 for General Admission, $5 for UCDHSC students with student I.D.s
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