THE ITALIAN INSIDER Theatre Review: The Glass Menagerie

As our Friday show has now sold out, we have added a Saturday matinee at 2pm. 

Samantha Wernham

23 October 2016

 ROME –  Ushered into the John Cabot University auditorium, finding my seat amongst students, locals and theatre-lovers alike, I had no idea what to expect, having never watched Tennessee Williams' memory play 'The Glass Menagerie' before.

 Following a short introductory speech from the director, Lee Andrew Archer, the lights then dimmed, the audience hushed, and the protagonist, Tom Wingfield (Frank Baj) appeared under the spotlight. From that moment on, I was completely mesmerised for the entire hour and 40 minutes.

 Centred around the falseness and deceit of the American Dream, Amanda Wingfield (interpreted brilliantly by Tracy Caputo) was once a Southern belle, snowed under with visits from so-called 'gentlemen callers' begging for her hand in marriage. The play follows her life nearly 20 years on, abandoned by her husband and living alone with two children, Tom and Laura (Martina Angelucci).

 Comedic elements are weaved throughout the script, mainly in Amanda's manic dialogue with her painfully shy, unmarried daughter -- reminiscent almost of a modern day Mrs. Bennet, desperate for the socially awkward Laura to escape the life of an 'old-maid.'

 However, beneath the witty quips and surface-humour lies a darker tale of unfulfilled destiny, delusion and rebellion, as all three family members long to break from the restrictive bounds of their current situation under the same roof, dreaming of either their glorious past or the promise of an adventurous future.

 The cast were truly spectacular, particularly the narrator Tom, whose asides added an extra dream-like layer to the piece, reminding the audience that the on-stage action is in fact all a hazy memory in his troubled mind, unable to let go of the guilt and torment of his past.

 Laura is eventually visited by Jim O'Connor (Al Mariotti), the high school dreamboat turned high-flyer. The climactic scene, with both characters huddled on the floor around a burning candle, talking of the personal flaws which plague their lives, was a marvel. Mariotti managed to strike the balance perfectly between a man content with the success of his life, yet inevitably stricken by his indescribable longing for something more, whilst Angelucci's distressing portrayal of the introverted Laura was mesmerising, allowing the audience a brief glimpse into her potential happiness, inevitably shattered, just like her glass figurine, with a devastating discovery.

 A thought-provoking script supported by an outstanding cast from the English Theatre of Rome, the show continues at John Cabot University, Via Lungara 233 (in Trastevere):

tckts: 12 euro. 10 euro

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2:00 pm & 6:00pm

Sunday, Oct. 30, 5:00pm  

For info and booking, contact: rometheatre@gmail.com, Text nessage, WhatsApp: 39+3489355626