The Glass Menagerie: One Stage, Four Actors
Four accomplished students will tackle the Tennesse Williams classic this weekend.
by Lily Ghiz
Southern Virginia’s production of The Glass Menagerie opens this weekend and promises to teach the audience “the truths of life,” as cast member Kinsey Cluff states it.
The production is directed by Professor Robert Stoddard and stars Karin Allred, Kinsey Cluff, Spencer Franco and William Gardner. It will run Sept. 21–22, 27–29 at Chandler Hall.
The Glass Menagerie, a play written by Tennessee Williams, tells the story of a family dealing with loss, nostalgia and mental and physical fragility. The play takes place in St. Louis in 1937 and examines a day in the life of a mother and her adult children.
Williams based the play on his own life with his mother and disabled sister. He explores themes such as family, deception, abandonment, hope, love and duty. The characters in the play are flawed, and each has personal struggles they must face. As the play progresses, many of these issues come to a head.
“It’s whimsical and wistful, with happy moments, all of which are touched with a bit of sadness. It carries delicate family relationships that could almost shatter like glass, but they are also filled in with the warm moments that we all experience on those happy days at home with family and friends,” says Natalie Kelly, assistant to the director.
“The messages in this show are not handed to audiences on a silver platter; one of the beauties of it is discovering what your personal takeaway is,” Cluff says.
You can purchase tickets here or you can call 540–261–8464.
“Take this chance to have some fun, bring a date, or your significant other. Have a girls or guys night. The Glass Menagerie will bring a brief wistful magic to the SVU campus, ” invites Kelly.
