On Theater: A touching ‘Glass Menagerie’ at Golden West College

By Tom Titus

Feb. 20, 2018 4 PM PT

Tennessee Williams delved deeply into his own past to create the 1944 play which introduced him to Broadway audiences, “The Glass Menagerie.” This memory drama currently is being revived in a handsome production at Golden West College.

Set in a sparsely furnished and dimly lit St. Louis apartment of the 1930s, where memories of the past appear periodically on a video screen, the play is heavily autobiographical, including the narrator called Tom (Williams’ real name) and the characters of his intimidating mother and handicapped sister, both reportedly true to life.

At Golden West, director Tom Amen has meticulously culled the play’s events into a tender and touching package, illustrated by the dreamlike videos incorporated into the story by set designer Tim Mueller and bolstered by Crystal Shomph’s delicate lighting designs.

Williams addresses the audience through the character of Tom, a young man dissatisfied in his shoe warehouse job who dreams of bigger and better experiences but feels compelled to stay and support his mother and sister. Matthew Cobb enriches this role with alternating attitudes of pensiveness and thinly disguised rage in an excellent performance.

The role of Amanda, his former Southern belle mother, might be a dominant assignment, but Carrie Vinikow chooses to soften her delivery almost to the level of that of her introverted daughter. Increased volume could strengthen her character as well as her projection.

Carolyn Feres immaculately interprets the crippled, reticent Laura, playing the character on a proper single, pathetic note. We read volumes into her silence as she pursues her lonely, uneventful existence.

The long-awaited gentleman caller, a former classmate of Laura’s on whom she once had her only serious crush, gets a winning performance from Alex Jean, who nearly succeeds in his sunny attempts to build her confidence. Their semi-romantic encounter is beautifully enacted as a study in contrasting personalities.

Mueller’s setting seems intentionally bare — the “menagerie” of the title consists only of the one unicorn figurine essential to the plot. Jojo Siu’s Depression-era costumes are quite effective, as is Veronica Mullins’ sound design, though more of this element would be welcome.

“The Glass Menagerie” remains significant as the introductory vehicle for one of America’s greatest playwrights. It completes its brief engagement Feb. 25 with a matinee in GWC’s Mainstage Theater.