‘Glass Menagerie’ to open at KU / LJWorld.com

Archive for Sunday, November 8, 2009

Staff reports

November 8, 2009

Tennessee Williams’ classic drama “The Glass Menagerie” comes to the University Theatre stage starting Saturday.

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 19, 20 and 21. Matinees are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Nov. 15 and 22. All performances are at the Crafton-Preyer Theatre, inside Kansas University’s Murphy Hall.

The production, under the direction of Jack Wright, features original music composed by Paul Bowles for the 1944 premiere production.

Originally written as a screenplay for MGM, the play stemmed from one of Williams’ short stories. It is a memory play, narrated by Tom and based on the memories of his mother, Amanda, and his sister, Laura.

Amanda’s husband left the family years before, and she remains stuck in the past. Tom works in a warehouse, chafing under the boredom of everyday life and spending much of his spare time watching movies.

Amanda is obsessed with finding another suitor for Laura, who spends most of her time with her glass collection. Tom brings a young man, Jim, home for dinner, hoping he will be the long-awaited suitor for Laura. When Laura realized Jim is the man she loved in high school and has thought of ever since, he dashes her hopes for a future, telling her that he is already engaged.

Tickets are $18 for the public, $10 for students and $17 for seniors and KU faculty and staff. They are available by calling 864-3982.