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SYNOPSIS OF The Glass Menagerie

behavior soon draws her out of her shell. The Glass Menagerie Laura then ventures to show him her favoris a memory play, and its acite glass animal, a unicorn. Jim dances with tion is drawn from the memoher, but in the process, he accidentally ries of the narrator, Tom knocks over the unicorn, breaking off its Wingfield. Tom is a character horn. Laura is forgiving, noting that now the in the play, which is set in St. unicorn is a normal horse. Jim then kisses Louis in 1937. He is an aspirher, but he quickly draws back and apoloing poet who toils in a shoe gizes, explaining that he was carried away warehouse to support his by the moment and that he actually has a mother, Amanda, and sister, serious girlfriend. Resigned, Laura offers Laura. Mr. Wingfield, Tom him the broken unicorn as a souvenir. and Lauras father, ran off Amanda enters the living room, full years ago and, except for one of good cheer. Jim hastily explains that he postcard, has not been heard must leave because of an appointment with from since. his fiance. Amanda sees him off warmly Amanda, originally Tennessee Williams, from the but, after he is gone, turns on Tom, who from a genteel Southern famNGA archives had not known that Jim was engaged. ily, regales her children freAmanda accuses Tom of being an inattenquently with tales of her idyllic tive, selfish dreamer and then throws herself into youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued comforting Laura. From the fire escape outside of her. She is disappointed that Laura, who wears a their apartment, Tom watches the two women and brace on her leg and is painfully shy, does not atexplains that, not long after Jims visit, he gets fired tract any gentlemen callers. She enrolls Laura in a from his job and leaves Amanda and Laura behind. business college, hoping that she will make her own Years later, though he travels far, he finds that he is and the familys unable to leave behind guilty memories of Laura. fortune through a Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I business career. have things up my sleeve. But I am Weeks later, howthe opposite of a stage magician. He Timeline of the Play ever, Amanda gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in discovers that 1927 First transatlantic flight Lauras crippling the pleasant disguise of illusion. shyness has led Tom, Act I her to drop out of 1929 Talkies end silent films. The Great the class secretly and spend her days wandering Depression begins. the city alone. Amanda then decides that Lauras last hope must lie in marriage. Meanwhile, Tom, 1933 FDR elected.; Nazi Revolution in Germany who loathes his warehouse job, finds escape in liquor, movies, and literature, much to his mothers 1934 Prohibition repealed chagrin. Amanda and Tom discuss Lauras prospects, and Amanda asks Tom to keep an eye out for 1935 Works Progress Administration established potential suitors at the warehouse. Tom selects Jim OConnor, a casual friend, and invites him to dinner. 1936 Spanish Civil War Tom confides to Jim that he has used the money for his familys electric bill to join the merchant marine 1937 Chicago steel strike; Guernica bombed and plans to leave his job and family in search of adventure. As dinner is ending, the lights go out as 1939 World War II begins a consequence of the unpaid electric bill. The characters light candles, and Amanda encourages Jim to entertain Laura in the living room 1941 Pearl Harbor is bombed and US enters while she and Tom clean up. Laura is at first paraWWII lyzed by Jims presence, but his warm and open
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A CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

1911 Thomas Lanier Williams born March 26 in Columbus, Mississippi to Cornelius Coffin and Edwina Dakin Williams. Rose Isabel and Walter Dakin, sister and brother, born in 1909 and 1919. The baby was a beautiful girl and I called her Rose, after Mother. Two years later, in 1911, I had my second child, the boy I named Thomas Lanier Williams....He was to give much more to the world than either the world or I could give him. Edwina Williams, Remember Me to Tom 1918 1928 Family moves to St. Louis, Missouri First work published in Smart Set, an award winning essay answering the question, "Can a Good Wife be a Good Sport?" Begins work as a clerk for the International Shoe Company in St. Louis. First play produced in Memphis, Tennessee, "Cairo! Shanghai! Bombay!," a short play about two sailors on shore leave. His sister, Rose Williams, is institutionalized at Farmington State Hospital (Missouri) for schizophrenia which will lead, later, to a prefrontal lobotomy. I don't believe that my sister was actually foolish. I think the petals of her mind had simply closed through fear, and it's no telling how much they had closed upon in the way of secret wisdom. Tennessee Williams "Portrait of a Girl in Glass" 1938 1943 Graduates with a B.A. degree in English from the University of Iowa. Six month contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer results in a screenplay, The Gentleman Caller, the seminal version of The Glass Menagerie. The script is refused. Writes The Glass Menagerie which appears first in Chicago and then, in 1945, opens on Broadway. A Streetcar Named Desire opens in New York, and wins a second Drama Critics' Circle Award as well as the Pulitzer Prize (1948). The Rose Tattoo opens at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams a Tony Award for Best Play. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens at the Morosco Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams his second Pulitzer Prize as well as another Tony Award for Best Play. Orpheus Descending opens at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway. Sweet Bird of Youth opens at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway. Period of Adjustment opens at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway. The Night of the Iguana opens at the Royale Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams another Tony Award for Best Play. His partner, Frank Merlo, dies of lung cancer and Williams falls into a deep depression that will last for a decade. Williams next several plays open to poor reviews and only last a few performances each. Tennessee Williams dies in his New York City residence at the Hotel Elysee. He is buried in St. Louis, Missouri.

1931-34 1935

1937

1943-44 1947

1951

1955

1957 1959 1960 1961

1963

1968-70 1983

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Enhance Your Experience: The Glass Menagerie

PRE-SHOW QUESTIONS
* Tennessee Williams calls The Glass Menagerie a memory play. What do you think he means by this? How do you think memory affects the telling of the story and the creation of the characters? * The Glass Menagerie takes place in the late 1930s in a tenement apartment in St. Louis. The Wingfields were a lower-middle class family, meaning they were not particularly wealthy. Research what St. Louis was like during this period. What did it look like? What major events were taking place? *In the play, Tom frequently mentions going to the movies every night. Conduct your own research on movies in the late 1930s. What were some popular films? What was the style of the movies created? What was the movie-going experience like? Of all Tennessee Williams work, The Glass Menagerie is said to be the most autobiographical.

If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it. Williams, 1958

JOURNEY FROM PAGE TO STAGE notes about the original production

Around 1941, Williams began the work that would become The Glass Menagerie. The play evolved from a short story entitled Portrait of a Girl in Glass, which focused more completely on Laura than the play does. When The Glass Menagerie was first produced in Chicago in 1944, Tennessee Williams was an obscure, struggling playwright. He had recently quit a job in Los Angeles writing screenplays for MGM, an experience he had not considered positive. An adaptation he had been assigned to do for the famous actress Lana Turner was rejected as unsuitable for her; Williams described Turner in his Memoirs as unable to act her way out of her form-fitting cashmere. Thanks to the efforts of Williamss faithful agent, Audrey Wood, The Glass Menagerie was picked up by Eddie Dowling, an actor, director, and producer. Dowling grabbed the role of Tom for himself and persuaded Laurette Taylor to take on the role of Amanda. Taylor, who had become a darling of the American stage for her performance as the title character in Peg o My Heart in 1912, had been living in semi-reclusion since the death of her husband in 1928. Bringing her into The Glass Menagerie was both a great coup and a substantial gamble. A shadowy Chicago entrepreneur whose main business was running seedy hotels financed the production. Legend has it that the rehearsals for the play did not inspire optimism; for one thing, Taylor seemed in constant danger of forgetting her lines. Opening night was December 26, 1944. Not long before the curtain rose, the cast and crew panicked when they could not find Ms. Taylor. She was quickly discovered, however, in the bathroom, attempting to put on a bathrobe that she was to wear later in the play. Taylor, along with the other cast members, went on to give a magnificent performance. The next day, newspaper critics raved about the play and its cast. Oddly, though, attendance was sparse for the remainder of the first week. The financial backer was on the verge of closing the play, but Chicagos theater critics mounted an all-out campaign to save it, begging readers of their daily columns not to miss the play. Within another couple of weeks, The Glass Menagerie was playing to full houses. In March of 1945, the play opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York. The cast was the same one that had played in Chicago, with Julie Haydon as Laura and Anthony Ross as Jim. The plays reception in New York was every bit as strong as in Chicago. It ran for 561 performances and was named best American play of the year by the New York Drama Critics Circle. Laurette Taylors performance as Amanda went on to become the stuff of myth. When The Glass Menagerie was revived on Broadway in 1956, Helen Hayess interpretation of the role was judged as acceptable but lacking Taylors magic. Maureen Stapleton met the same fate playing Amanda on Broadway in 1965. In 1973, the American Broadcasting Corporation staged The Glass Menagerie for television, with Katherine Hepburn as Amanda. Hepburns performance was praised to the skies, as was the production as a whole, with Sam Waterston as Tom, Joanna Miles as Laura, and Michael Moriarty as Jim (Moriartys performance was said to mark a watershed in the interpretation of Jims character). Following its Broadway premiere, the play won the New York Drama Critics Circle and was revived on Broadway in 1965 and again in 1983.
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Enhance Your Experience: The Glass Menagerie

GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND PHRASES IN

The Glass Menagerie

Berchtesgaden: an area of southeastern Germany, now a national park, known for breathtaking views of the German Alps. "Suspended in the mist over Berchtesgaden" Tom Scene 5. Cakewalk: a dance with a strutting step based on a promenade. "I won the cakewalk twice at Sunset Hill" Amanda Scene 7. Celotex: a type of fiber board used for building insulation. "You think I want to spend fifty-five years of my life down there in that celotex interior!" Tom Scene 3.

Milk Fund: "Milk funds" were set up all over the country by philanthropic groups (usually religious groups) and local governments to provide milk for undernourished children in public schools. "And there was an organ solo and a collection for the milk-fund." Tom Scene 4. The Pirates of Penzance: 19th century operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan. "Here he is in the Pirates of Penzance." Laura Scene 2. Pleurosis: an inflammation of the lungs, characterized by chills, fever, painful breathing and coughing. "I said pleurosis he thought that I said Blue Roses!" Laura Scene 2.

Century of Progress: an international fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934, the theme of which was science and industry. "I saw it summer before last at the Purina: a hot multi-grain breakfast cereal made from oats, Century of Progress." Jim Scene 8. wheat, and millet. "Eat a bowl of Purina!" Amanda Scene 5.

Cotillion: a formal ball where debutantes are presented. Service Car: The term 'service car' in 1937 could apply to a "I led the cotillion in this dress years ago." Amanda bus, trolley or streetcar, but not to a taxi. "I gave your brother Scene 7. a little extra money so he and Mr. O'Connor could take the service car home." Amanda Scene 7. D.A.R.: Daughters of the American Revolution; national women's organization of descendents of patriots of the American Revolution. "Didn't you go to the D.A.R. POST-SHOW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS meeting, Mother." Laura Scene 2. Who do you think is the main character of the playTom, Guernica: a town in the Basque region of Spain that Laura, or Amanda? Why? Is the main character the was the site of a massive and brutal attack during the protagonist? Is there an antagonist? Spanish Civil War. "In Spain there was Guernica." Tom Scene 6. What might happen to Laura after Toms departure? What might happen to Amanda? Hogan Gang: an infamous crime family from St. Louis. "I've joined the Hogan Gang, I'm a hired assassin" Tom Scene 3. How does the fact that Tom is the narrator affect the style and Lawrence, D.H.: (1885-1930) English novelist and poet best known at that time for Sons and Lovers. "That awful book buy that insane Mr. Lawrence." Amanda Scene 3.

content of the play? Would your appraisal of the events be different if there were no narrator?

Merchant Marine: the fleet of US ships that carried imports and exports during peacetime and became a naval auxiliary during wartime to deliver troops and war materials. "I saw that letter you got from the Merchant Marines." Amanda Scene 5. Metropolitan star: a star in New York's Metropolitan Opera, one of the foremost opera companies in the world. "Temperament like a Metropolitan star!" Amanda Scene 1.

In what ways might The Glass Menagerie be a different play if Williams had chosen one of the other characters to tell the same story? What story might Laura tell? Amanda? The gentleman caller? How would their stories differ? What, would you say, is the "truth" of memory? How has Williams used humor in The Glass Menagerie? What does this suggest about the Wingfield family? In what ways does Jim O'Connor reflect the reality of the 1930s? What are his ambitions and values? How is Jim different from the other characters in the play?

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Enhance Your Experience

SYMBOLISM
Writers often use objects or events to represent and emphasize complicated ideas. These symbols often get the attention of the reader better than an explanation of that idea. Symbols make important ideas easier to notice and remember.

Curriculum Connections in The Glass Menagerie

Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going.
-Tennessee Williams

1. How is the fire escape a symbol that reveals something about each characters personality? Do you think the fire escape represents one character more than another? Explain. 2. In what way is Lauras limp symbolic of her inner nature? In what ways are her glass animals symbols of her personality? 3. When, in scene seven, the unicorn is knocked off the table and it loses its horn, how does this incident relate to Laura? What is the playwright saying about Laura when she says, now the unicorn will be like the other animals? 4. At the very end of the play, Tom asks Laura to blow out her candles. What do you think that action symbolizes to Tom?

INTERDISCIPLINARY ART PROJECTS FOR THE CLASSROOM

Use the atmosphere and tone of The Glass Menagerie to inspire artistic expression and the use of various art disciplines; visual, musical, literary and performance.

broke new ground by opening up the stage to sheer sensibility, and not by abandoning dramatic structure but transforming it. What was new in Tennessee Williams was his rhapsodic insistence on making form serve his utterance. He did not turn his back on dramatic rules but created new ones. With The Glass Menagerie, the longlost lyrical line was found again, and supporting it, driving it on, an emotional heroism, that outflanked even values themselves; what he was celebrating was not approval or disapproval but humanity, the pure germ of enduring life. Arthur Miller, in his memorial tribute to Williams, following his death in 1983.
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1. Using pictures and words from magazines, construct a collage for each character in the play that describes the essence of his or her personality. Remember that it is not just the individual items or words, but the total feeling of the picture that will provide insight into the personality being described. For example, Lauras collage may have a faint, gauzy, pastel look to it, and might include images of fragile objects such as glass, flowers or lace. 2. Select or compose music that gives an impression of one of the characters in the play. Title it for the character you have chosen (e.g., Lauras Theme or Daydream Hero for Tom or Jim). Share your selection with the class, and explain why that particular music and title were chosen. 3. Study American/European art of the 1930s, and search for paintings that evoke the same mood as in The Glass Menagerie. 4. Picasso, like Tennessee Williams, created art which was autobiographical. Study the work that Picasso produced during the 1930s, the same period of time in which The Glass Menagerie takes place. How was the painting Guernica part of Picassos life? Why did Williams mention it in The Glass Menagerie? 5. Ask students to take turns pantomiming a situation in which they are trapped. Scenarios will probably range from physical entrapment (a box or cage) to situations or emotions that trap them. Discuss traps and the many varieties and forms they can take. How do people feel about being trapped, and what do they often do about it? Discuss how people trap themselves. Discuss strategies that people can use to free themselves (e.g., education).

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WALNUT STREET THEATRE

Bringing the Performance to You
Walnut Street Theatre is the oldest theatre in America, celebrating 200 years in 2009. Standing at the corner of Ninth and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia for two hundred years, Walnut Street Theatre's National Historic Landmark structure has housed two centuries' worth of American popular entertainment. Most noteworthy American actors of the 19th century and many from the 20th century have appeared on stage at the Walnut. Some of the Walnut's shining stars include: Edwin Forrest, Edwin Booth, Edmund Kean, the Drews, the Barrymores, George M. Cohan, Will Rogers, The Marx Brothers, Helen Hayes, Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Ethel Waters, Audrey Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Lauren Bacall, George C. Scott, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Julie Harris, Jack Lemon, and William Shatner. Over the years audiences have clapped and cheered for circus, opera, vaudeville, lectures, music, dance, motion pictures, and of course, the live theatre productions for which it is best known today. When the theatre opened its doors on February 2, 1809, the pounding of hooves mingled with the shrieks of delight from the crowd as teams of horses circled a dirt riding ring. A few years later, an 80foot dome was added to the theatre, making it the tallest structure in Philadelphia at that time. The theatre's career as an equestrian circus did not last long, however, and by 1812 the building had been converted to a legitimate theatre, featuring a real stage where the ring had stood. The Walnut's first theatrical production, The Rivals, had PresiVisit Walnut Street Theatre, a National Historic Landmark, dent Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette in aton the corners of 9th and Walnut in Philadelphia tendance on opening night. Walnut Street Theatre is home to many firsts in the American theater scene. In 1837, the Walnut was the first theatre to install gas footlights, and in 1855, the Walnut became the first theatre to install air conditioning. The first copyright law protecting American plays had its roots at the Walnut. The curtain call, now a tradition in every theatre, started at the Walnut with the post-play appearance of noted 19th Century actor Edmund Kean. In 1863, the theatre was purchased by Edwin Booth, a son of one of the most famous theatrical families of the day. Unfortunately, fame would soon turn to notoriety for Booth when his brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated the President at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC. Edwin Booth, with his business partner and brother-in-law, John Sleeper Clark, managed to hold on to the Walnut in those dark days and go on to guide it for many years. During the 1880s, the Walnut experienced many renovations, including a new stage for more elaborate musical comedies. In 1920, the interior was again rebuilt within the old exterior using structural steel in a design by William H. Lee. The Walnut remained a significant player on the American theatre scene throughout the twentieth century. Purchased by the Shubert Organization in the 1940s, the theatre was home to many pre-Broadway try-outs of plays that would go on to become American classics, such as A Streetcar Named Desire starring Marlon Brando, A Raisin in the Sun featuring Sydney Poitier, and The Diary of Anne Frank featuring Susan Strasberg. Mister Roberts, starring Henry Fonda, opened at the Walnut in 1948. Fonda, recently discharged from the Navy, used his own uniform in the play. His daughter, Jane Fonda appeared in There Was a Little Girl in 1960. In 1961, Neil Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn debuted. In 1964, Walnut Street Theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark. Then in 1969 the theatre was renovated again to become a Performing Arts Center. During this period a variety of live entertainments were represented at the Walnut including dance, music, and theatre. In 1976 the Walnut hosted the first televised Carter-Ford presidential debate. The Walnut began its most recent incarnation as a self-producing, non-profit regional theatre when Bernard Havard took the helm in 1982, founding the Walnut Street Theatre Company with a vision of once again creating theatre in a space that is so steeped in the American theatre's traditions and history. Today, you can experience the realization of that dream when you attend a live performance. With over 56,000 subscribers annually, the Walnut Street Theatre is the most subscribed theatre company in the world.
Invest in the history of Walnut Street Theatre! Visit www.amazon.com to pick up your copy of Americas Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theatre by Andrew Davis and Images of America: Walnut Street Theatre by Bernard Havard and Mark D. Sylvester

For more information about the current season, theatre school classes, employment opportunities and the historical legacy of Walnut Street Theatre, visit us online at www.walnutstreettheatre.org
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