Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie opened Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre March 31, 1945. It was Williams' first successful play and propelled him to theatrical fame (his other works A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof would soon follow).
The "memory play" (the first work to use that term) centers on the Wingfield family—frustrated writer Tom, his co-dependent mother Amanda, who is often lost in memories of her Southern-belle past, and his painfully shy sister Laura—and the effect a visit from a gentleman caller for Laura has on all of their lives. The Glass Menagerie was based on Williams' own family, with Tom a stand-in for the playwright, Amanda was based on Williams' mother, and the mentally fragile Laura was based on Williams' sister Rose—who had been subjected to a botched lobotomy. Williams' would pay for his sister's care the rest of her life, even after his death using the proceeds from his estate.
Directed by Eddie Dowling and Margo Jones, the original production of The Glass Menagerie featured Laurette Taylor as Amanda, Eddie Dowling as Tom, Julie Haydon as Laura, and Anthony Ross as Jim. The production played 563 performances before closing August 3, 1946.
The show has been revived on Broadway seven times, making it Williams' most-revived play. A 1965 production starred Maureen Stapleton, Piper Laurie, and George Grizzard; a decade later, Stapleton returned to the role of Amanda Wingfield opposite Pamela Payton-Wright, Rip Torn, and Paul Rudd. In 1983, Jessica Tandy took on the role of Amanda, with Amanda Plummer as Laura, Bruce Davison as Tom, and John Heard as Jim.
Eleven years later, the play returned to Broadway with Julie Harris as Amanda, Calista Flockhart as Laura, Zeljko Ivanek as Tom, and Kevin Kilner as Jim (the first production, incidentally, to use those names in the credits rather than The Mother, The Daughter, The Son, and The Gentleman Caller).
A 2005 revival starred Jessica Lange as Amanda, Sarah Paulson as Laura, Christian Slater as Tom, and Josh Lucas as Jim. Eight years later, it was Cherry Jones' turn at Amanda, in a revival that earned seven 2014 Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Play. Her co-stars were Zachary Quinto as Tom, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Laura, and Brian J. Smith as Jim.
The most recent revival, starring two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field and two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, opened at the Belasco Theatre March 9, 2017, playing a limited engagement through May 21, 2017. It garnered Field a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Play. The play cast Madison Ferris as Laura, who became the first wheelchair-using actor to be in a Broadway play.
Take a look back at the many variations of the Wingfield clan below.
-Matthew-Murphy.jpg)
