STAGE REVIEW : Problems of Pacing and Acting Blemish ‘The Glass Menagerie’

The production of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” that opened at the Cabrillo Playhouse last Thursday was marred by fundamental problems in the acting and pacing.

Although director Tom Amen, who also co-produced the show in cooperation with the San Clemente Community Theater, did bring an unindulgent approach to this emotionally arch play, he had trouble presenting the characters and their story in an effective way. This opening night too often felt like a dress rehearsal.

The 1944 drama, probably Williams’ most sentimental because of its autobiographical roots, requires a steady passion throughout: Go too far and it veers toward the bathetic; fail to evoke the right tension and you risk losing much the poignancy of its humanity.

Clearly demonstrating the nature of the characters and their ties to each other is crucial, and that wasn’t always accomplished by Amen and his performers. When Tom (Buck Stevens) and mother Amanda (Flora Burke) fight, it has to be more than bickering. Their sad battles are the documentation of a disintegrating family, a reality that didn’t often emerge in this production.

For her part, Burke had problems with the lines, occasionally stumbling over or misquoting them. Probably just opening-night nerves, but it affected the drama. As much as any playwright, Williams’ poetic language must be handled precisely or the mood is easily shattered.

Stevens was strong during the narrations, when Tom sets the tone and describes the dynamics of the day and within his desperate family. But his interactions with the other characters lacked forcefulness--his key fight with Amanda in the first act was more comic than it should be.

As Laura, the handicapped sister who tends to her menagerie of glass figurines and waits for a “gentleman caller” (Tom Amen), Sonya Sweeney was able to show the heartbreaking aloneness of the character, no small accomplishment.

The production’s flaws did not reach into the technical side. Although crowded, Amen and Stevens’ set had the right look of faded living, and their lighting was delicate and precise.

‘THE GLASS MENAGERIE’

A production of Tennessee Williams’ drama. Directed by Tom Amen. With Flora Burke, Buck Stevens, Sonya Sweeney and Tom Amen. Lighting and set by Tom Amen and Buck Stevens. Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. through July 21 at the Cabrillo Playhouse, 202 Avenida Cabrillo, San Clemente. Tickets: $8 and $9. (714) 249-2173 or (714) 492-0465.