Williams’ 1945 play is a timeless depiction of the “all-in-the-family” drama; but Theatre UAB’s production, with nontraditional casting, offers a twist on the usual.Theatre UAB will present Tennessee Williams’ icon of American theater, “The Glass Menagerie,” from Feb. 26-March 1.
Amanda Wingfield, a faded remnant of Southern gentility, now lives in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura, who has a physical handicap and debilitating shyness. When Amanda convinces Tom to bring home from his workplace a “gentleman caller” for Laura, the illusions that Tom, Amanda and Laura have each created in order to make life bearable collapse about them. “The Glass Menagerie” is a drama of great tenderness, charm and beauty.
Theatre UAB is the performance company of the University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Theatre.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26-29 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Sirote Theatre. Tickets are $12 and $15, $6 for students, and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or visit AlysStephens.org.
Theatre UAB’s production, directed by Dennis McLernon, features nontraditional casting. Williams’ 1945 play is a timeless depiction of the “all-in-the-family” drama. However, this UAB show is a unique production that you probably have not seen before, says dramaturg David Parker.
“We have chosen to explore it from the perspective of an African American family in the midst of the Jim Crow era,” Parker said. “Set in 1939, it has been years since the end of the first World War and the scourge of The Great Depression still lingers. The United States’ active involvement in World War II is still two years away. Given the continued prominence of Jim Crow laws and other extenuating circumstances, our characters are confined to their status. There is still social resistance to women expanding their reach beyond the home, and segregation stymies the upward progression of black men in the workforce.”
The cast is Alivia Moore of Mobile, Alabama, as Laura; David Parker of Quinlan, Texas, as Tom; Devin Franklin of Hueytown, Alabama, as Jim; and Assistant Professor of Theatre Cheryl Hall as Amanda.
Stage management for the production is by Bailey Dumlao of Germantown, Tennessee; with assistant stage managers Hannah Fulmore of Birmingham and Amanda Waller of Johns Creek, Georgia; scenic designer Austin Helmers of Montevallo, Alabama; and costume designer Claire Stewart of Fairhope, Alabama. Lighting design is by Kelly Allison, with projections and sound design by David Page and properties design by J. Marc Quattlebaum.