The Glass Menagerie, a play by Tennessee Williams at the Laura Pels Theatre (presented by Roundabout). Starring Judith Ivey, Patch Darragh, Keira Keeley and Michael Mosley. Directed by Gordon Edelstein.
We saw a preview performance on a stormy day (yesterday) of this production which was much praised when it was at the Long Wharf Theatre. Alas, the production still has a whiff of the provincial in it. What must have seemed like a very high quality presentation in New Haven, becomes mundane for Broadway. Unquestionably Judith Ivey, a great actress by any measure, delivers an expert performance, a clinic in acting. But she lacks that special luminous quality that was supposedly part of Laurette Taylor's resume. That Taylor had once been a beloved and beautiful ingenue (her Peg O'My Heart was one of the great hits of the early 20th Century), unlike Ivey who has never been other than a character actor may have been part of the problem. We have never seen an ideal performance of this challenging role - Jessica Tandy failed just as Ivey has. Katherine Hepburn in the television adaptation perhaps has come closest to capturing the faded, but still potent allure of the character. Amanda must, for a brief moment, be prettier and more bewitching than her poor daughter when the "gentleman caller" comes a calling, she should be a faded Southern Belle who briefly recaptures her charm, thus putting her sad daughter into stark relief for lacking those qualities, but Ivey was merely what she is throughout the performance, a pathetic, bullying battle-axe.
The rest of the cast varied. Patch Darragh, of NBC's "Mercy" dominated as Tom Wingfield, he should have a great future on the stage. Keira Keeley was a generic Laura. It didn't help that her most powerful scenes were played in near darkness, a huge mistake by the director and the lighting designer. When the glass unicorn is broken, we hear her, but do not see her. A pity.
A worthy effort, and worth seeing, but not a Glass Menagerie for the ages. Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade. B-
We saw a preview performance on a stormy day (yesterday) of this production which was much praised when it was at the Long Wharf Theatre. Alas, the production still has a whiff of the provincial in it. What must have seemed like a very high quality presentation in New Haven, becomes mundane for Broadway. Unquestionably Judith Ivey, a great actress by any measure, delivers an expert performance, a clinic in acting. But she lacks that special luminous quality that was supposedly part of Laurette Taylor's resume. That Taylor had once been a beloved and beautiful ingenue (her Peg O'My Heart was one of the great hits of the early 20th Century), unlike Ivey who has never been other than a character actor may have been part of the problem. We have never seen an ideal performance of this challenging role - Jessica Tandy failed just as Ivey has. Katherine Hepburn in the television adaptation perhaps has come closest to capturing the faded, but still potent allure of the character. Amanda must, for a brief moment, be prettier and more bewitching than her poor daughter when the "gentleman caller" comes a calling, she should be a faded Southern Belle who briefly recaptures her charm, thus putting her sad daughter into stark relief for lacking those qualities, but Ivey was merely what she is throughout the performance, a pathetic, bullying battle-axe.
The rest of the cast varied. Patch Darragh, of NBC's "Mercy" dominated as Tom Wingfield, he should have a great future on the stage. Keira Keeley was a generic Laura. It didn't help that her most powerful scenes were played in near darkness, a huge mistake by the director and the lighting designer. When the glass unicorn is broken, we hear her, but do not see her. A pity.
A worthy effort, and worth seeing, but not a Glass Menagerie for the ages. Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade. B-
posted by James Camner | 10:17 AM
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