Vintage delivers with ‘The Glass Menagerie’ — a cornerstone of American theatre

Director Bernie Cardell leads a powerful cast in Tennessee Williams’ memory play

Deception? Deception?”

Tennessee Williams’ dialogue in The Glass Menagerie is never more dour than in the second scene when this single word is repeated twice. This striking discourse summarizes Amanda’s (Emma Messenger) outlook on life: anger and disappointment with her words stinging repeatedly throughout the classic play.

Currently on stage at Vintage Theatre in Aurora — and directed by artistic director Bernie Cardell in his 150^th production since arriving in Denver — The Glass Menagerie offers a trip through Tom Wingfield’s (Matt Murry) memory. It explores the lives of his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura (Clara Papula), and the fateful evening when “The Gentleman Caller,” Jim (Cameron Davis), is invited for dinner.

Williams’ play is full of symbolism, often said to be reflecting on his own unhappy life. The title itself carries symbolic overtones, shadowing Laura’s life as someone seen as fragile, like her glass menagerie (a collection of glass animal figurines). In the language of yesteryear, Laura is called crippled because of a limp, even though she proudly displays the perfect glass unicorn as her favorite figurine. She perhaps recognizes herself in its uniqueness and perpetual loneliness.

Much leads to the ultimate tragic disfigurement of the glass unicorn, with non-stop sparring between Amanda and Tom. In the demanding role of Amanda, a faded Southern belle, Messenger has captured all the right emotions, from outright contempt to maternal cooing over her only son, Tom.  She nags him about his smoking and questions him regarding his whereabouts when he says he is going to the movies every night.

Messenger has found just the right combination of self-centered desperation and lost motherliness.  She can be ferocious and well-meaning in the same sentence. It is the gift of an accomplished actor to show both sides of the coin in the same breath.

Tom, as played by Murry, clearly longs for more. Not always knowing what that might be, Murry has captured the essence of someone trapped in circumstances that leave him both lethargic and restless. He’s stuck in a warehouse job, longing to write poetry and see the world, but he can do neither while under the constraints of his current living situation. As the play’s narrator, Murry has a gentleness that surfaces when he includes the audience in the unfolding story and speaks directly to Laura.  For much of the rest of the time, he is a caged animal with little chance of liberation.

Clara Papula and Cameron Davis as Laura and Jim | Photo: RDGPhotography

Commanding performance

When The Gentleman Caller is invited to dinner, he and Laura share a candlelit moment on the apartment floor. Performed as close to perfection as possible, Davis as Jim delivers a performance that energizes the play’s closing moments. As Laura, Papula hits all the right notes repeatedly, leaving me bereft of words to describe her commanding performance. Her gifted acting, combined with that of Davis, creates theatrical magic in these heartbreaking final moments.

As directed by Cardell, there is great reverence for the written word and Williams’ underlying symbols. Williams has crafted one of the greatest American plays; it takes a strong director to meet that challenge. Cardell meets the challenge and exceeds it on every level. He is unafraid to accentuate the extreme mood swings the characters experience in a short time. Having orchestrated the movement between several playing areas with great ease, he allows the actors to move freely from moment to moment.

Scenic artist Don Fuller has created a jaw-dropping set. The mural covering the back wall with exaggerated, Picasso-like paintings evokes an instantaneous response from the audience upon entering the theatre. Every inch of the playing space is used appropriately without feeling constrained. Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry, the costume designer, has dressed the cast in surprising vitality, especially the bright red jacket belonging to The Gentleman Caller. The costumes are period-appropriate and represent the characters as we come to know them.

Without question, The Glass Menagerie is a play all theatergoers should be familiar with and hopefully have seen. If not, we are lucky to have Vintage producing plays of this magnitude, with this production being nothing less than breathtaking.