Volume CXXXI, Number 24 May 3, 2002 f

Menagerie hits Pickard
HANNAH DEAN
STAFF WRITER

A story of broken dreams and glass illusions, The Glass Menagerie was Tennessee Williams's first popular success. The play promises to be as powerful on Bowdoin's Pickard Theater stage as it was when it originally premiered in Chicago in 1944.

Sarah Hoenig '02, left, and Carolyn Lenske '02 star in senior Brendan Smith-Elion's adaptation of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient)

Directed by Brendan Smith-Elion '02, this production of The Glass Menagerie has been the culmination of a year long project. Elion emphasized that although the play may appear to be simple at first glance, careful examination reveals the fact that the storyline "operates on many different levels."

By developing the characters and the play over such a long rehearsal period, Elion hopes that he has been able to "get to the really subtle points" of the play and reveal the "multifaceted text" of The Glass Menagerie.

Because Menagerie is a "memory play," Williams's text allows for freedom in terms of normal play conventions and interpretations. The play is an attempt to combine the thought processes of characters onstage with correlating images to create a smooth flow that is unlike the conventional concept of a play.

The Glass Menagerie was originally envisioned by Tennessee Williams as "plastic theater"-slide projections were used to create images that complemented the live action on stage. Elion has brought this concept to the next level.

Combining his interest in film and design, his version of the play combines screen action-which takes place on two screens on stage right and left-and live action on stage. Elion hopes that this combination will create a fluid piece of art that blurs the lines between thought and dialogue.

Although the use of screens in performance art is commonplace, the manner in which Elion uses the screens will bring a certain seriousness to the material that is not usually achieved in performance art.

The cast members, chosen last April, have proven at each rehearsal that they have delved deep into the characters they are playing. "Each actor has taken the skeleton that is their character in the script and fleshed it out," said Elion. The actors ability to "add their own character and make the parts their own" has impressed Elion at every turn.

Not only has the cast found personal connections to each character, Elion said that "aspects of the play have personal pertinence" for himself as well.
Being the culmination of five seniors' carriers at Bowdoin College, the production promises to be one of impressive proportions.

The Glass Menagerie will be put on in Pickard Theater on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4, 2002 at 7:00 pm. The play is being presented by the Bowdoin College Department of Theater and Dance.