Westminster Dramat Presents "The Glass Menagerie"

By Katie Hill '11
From "The Westminster News"

Four talented Westminster students performed in the Westminster Dramat production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. On an immaculate set that added profoundly to the feel of the stage and the perceived reality of the play, Andrew Overbye '09 portrayed Tom Wingfield, a young man dreaming of being a writer but burdened by his single mother and crippled sister, and the narrator of the play. Jeanne Kim '10 was mother Amanda Wingfield, abandoned by her husband as he took off in pursuit of greater things, and left to fend for her troubled children in a life that was not easy. Laura Wingfield, Amanda’s daughter, played by Brooke Brazer '12, is the focus of the tragic tale, a memory of loss and shocking truth.

The story is told in low lights and low voices, leaving the audience in the dark a bit when it came to the premises of these scenes. Dramatically introduced by Andrew Overbye as a play remembered, not all motives are clear, and not all problems are solved. Amanda dreams of finding a husband for her lonely, shy daughter, both to lift Laura’s spirits and livelihood and to attempt to mend her son’s life. Tom is as crippled as Laura, although not physically; he is yoked by responsibility to his family. In an effort to bring about some change, Tom invites his friend Jim O’Connor over for dinner as a gentleman caller for Laura. Dylan Spevacek '09 was crucial as this character, for it was Jim who encourages Laura to forget her supposed inferiority, but it was also he who breaks her heart. She has been in love with him since high school, but, being shy and unpopular, was unable to express her feelings. Unfortunately, Amanda Wingfield’s dreams of Laura marrying Jim are crushed when it come to light that Jim is engaged already.

The acting was excellent. In keeping with the underlying themes of the play, the actors accurately portrayed these characters as real people. The playwright a director gave the audience only glimpses of what each character was hiding, as if although we could not know what cards were about to be placed out on the table, we were getting signals from the dialogue and actions, enough to anticipate what might be played. One was able to sympathize with the shy, nervous Laura, the up-and-coming Jim, the resigned Tom, and the superior Amanda. By the end of the night, the audience was left in thought. Everyone who saw it was altered a bit, at least temporarily.

What we can take away from this play is that reality is not always pretty. There are those who will be like Tom, in the gutter and looking towards the stars, unable to stay where we are, and bound for the calling of a better tomorrow. There are Lauras among us, who are crippled perhaps physically, and perhaps emotionally, unhappy in our situation but unable to change a thing. There are Amandas who only wish for other’s happiness, although we may appear a bit overbearing or unreasonable in the process. And there are Jims, who will win the game simply because they have the perfect storm blowing them toward their fate.

Truth is sometimes painful, and dreams are often flattened, because truth is perception and dreams are illusion. It is all we can do to protect our glass menageries from things that harm, and keep a light on in our living rooms to ward off the darkness when the curtains close.

Bravo to the Westminster Dramat.