Menagerie's Delicate Power, and a Giving of Trees

By K Michael Moore
Photos by Len Struttmann

L-R: Spina, Schneider, Rezabek, Shedeck

Marion - The Glass Menagerie is often regarded as Tennessee Williams’s masterwork, filled with depth and broken, redeemable, challenging characters. In brief (as brief as possible!), the 1930’s: the Wingfield family, long abandoned but haunted by the unnamed Mr. Wingfield, struggles along on the income of an unsettled and dreaming Tom (David Schneider), who is also the Narrator of the piece. His older sister, Laura (Hannah Spina), destructively shy and with a crippled leg, has no prospects to make her own way in the world, little to no ambition past her record player and her glass figurines, and no likelihood to obtain a husband to provide for her. Their mother, Amanda (Traci Rezabek), is an aging southern belle who married the wrong man and lives largely in her own memory and her own vision of her children. Tom dreams of escaping the prison of the family flat, of adventure, but remains to keep his mother and sister from being destitute. Laura dreams of her glass figurines, of a boy she adored in high school. Amanda dreams of what she once was – or thought she was – and that her children would aspire to marriage and happiness, but she fails to understand what would make them happy. Needless to say, such a mix in a tiny St. Louis apartment leads to strife. Enter Tom’s friend, “The Gentleman Caller,” Jim O’Connor, played by Kyle Shedek, invited to dinner by Tom but at Amanda’s insistence in an effort to marry Laura off. Jim has no idea of Amanda’s intentions and doesn’t even know Tom has a sister.

Giving Tree’s inaugural production of Menagerie is a solid show, and shows the promise of future endeavors. It is not without its flaws, but it is a wonderful show. One of the show’s greatest accomplishments is that not one of the characters is flat or one-dimensional. As Director Heather Akers points out in her Director’s Note, it is all too easy with a script such as this to paint the characters too thin. Tom can easily become a selfish, alcoholic bum with no respect; Laura a willingly invalid spinster, afraid to face the world; and Amanda a manipulative harpy with a dash of insanity. At no time does the Giving Tree troupe allow this to happen. And that’s the true power of the production – Giving Tree shows us these infinitely human characters without either apology or excuse, but with simple understanding.

Glass Menagerie doesn't shine

by Matthew Falduto

Old Creamery - The Old Creamery has a new studio space to replace the one that was lost in the flood. The space is located in an old school building. Last weekend, in this wonderfully intimate venue I experienced a classic in American theatre, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Unfortunately, this production did not shine as brightly as it could have.

The Glass Menagerie is the story of Amanda, a proud Southern belle who was abandoned by her husband many years before and had to care for her children, Tom and Laura. Tom works in a factory to support his mother and sister and resents them for it. Laura has a mild physical impairment and is painfully shy and introverted. She spends all of her time with her glass menagerie, a collection of glass animals. Amanda's one goal is to find a husband for her daughter. To that end, she convinces Tom to bring home a "gentleman caller." What happens next is the main action of the play.

One of the most curious decisions was the location of glass menagerie. Laura's collection is the central part of the show, perhaps only slightly less important than the framed photo of the absent father. The choice to place it downstage and low so parts of the audience couldn't see it or more importantly couldn't see Laura interacting with it was a poor one. The importance of the menagerie to Laura was not as impactful as it needed to be.

Some of the lighting decisions were also curious. Sometimes the lights would change in the middle of a scene and I sensed that they were trying to create an impact, but what that impact was supposed to be was a mystery to me. It is not always easy to light a more intimate space effectively; with more shows forthcoming, Old Creamery will learn the tricks needed to make it work.

Of the four actors, Cheryl Black as Amanda stood out. She perfectly captured the character of the southern woman trying to re-create the past for her daughter. Her desperation and neediness were on display for all to see. As Laura, Emily Peterson was hampered by the staging decisions of the director. She seemed to embody the role well when she was visible to the audience. The men both performed well, although Jonesy McElroy as Tom sometimes uncomfortably came across as a detective out of a noir film when he narrated the action from the future. One of the strongest parts of the show were how well the actors worked together in a scene. McElroy and Black were especially good in their confrontational scenes. Peterson and Patrick McGee as Jim created a sweet relationship in their pivotal scene near the end of the play.

Old Creamery's new studio space has wonderful potential. That a theatre would make a commitment to creating more intimate shows in a separate space has to be applauded. We can all look forward to upcoming shows such as Red, White and Tuna and even more exciting to my mind, Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.


Matthew has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Iowa. He has directed, acted in, and produced theater in the Iowa City area for over twelve years. He has worked with the Iowa City Community Theatre, City Circle and Dreamwell, of which he is a founder. Two of his plays have been produced in the Iowa City area. In another brief life, he also worked as a technical writer.

Glass Menagerie opens Thursday

Old Creamery – The Glass Menagerie opens April 8 on The Old Creamery’s new intimate 70-seat Studio Stage.

The play centers on the efforts of Amanda, who hopes to find a husband for her daughter, Laura. Abandoned years ago by her own husband, Amanda has had to fight for financial survival in order to raise Laura and her brother, Tom. Now, she longs for a husband to care for Laura, while Tom - who works in a warehouse to support his mother and sister - longs for his own freedom.

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams - considered one of America’s best playwrights - premiered in Chicago in 1944 and won the prestigious 1945 New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The cast consists of Cheryl Black, of Columbia Missouri; Jonesy McElroy originally of Belle Plaine, Iowa and now of Los Angeles; Emily Peterson of Kansas City, Missouri; and Patrick McGee of New York. Directed by Tom Milligan, producing director at The Old Creamery Theatre Company, the show will run through April 25 and is rated Theatre PG.

Performances are Thursdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22.50 for adults and $15.50 for students.

A special open house will be held on Friday, April 9 from 5 to 7 p.m. to celebrate The Old Creamery’s new Studio Stage. No reservations are needed for the open house, which is free and open to the public. The show, which starts at 7:30 p.m., is not included in the free open house.

Call the box office at 800-35-AMANA or visit the website at www.oldcreamery.com for tickets, directions to the new stage, or more information. The Studio Stage is housed in the former Clear Creek Amana Middle School.