9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Williams Most Autobiographical Work, 21 Feb 2003
This review is from: The Glass Menagerie (Penguin Plays & Screenplays) (Paperback)
There are few American playwrights who rank as highly in the Pantheon as Tennessee Williams. He is up there with O'Neill, Miller and Albee as amongst the quintessential dramatists of the 20th century. This is one of his earliest, and in some respects his most timeless, of his scripts. No one can argue that it his most autobiographical, as it portrays a cloyingly suffocating matriarch, Amanda, and a younger sister, Laura, who are both interchangable characters for Williams' own little St Louis family. Actually, in real life, the outcome was much more tragic, as Williams' mother had a frontal lobotomy performed on his actual sister. One can see how Williams may have harbored some deep resentments towards his mother, and he spends most of his time getting even with her in this Euripidean play.
Though recent adaptations of this play have emphasized the "touchy-feely" aspects of the relationship between brother and sister (Why does Treat Williams come to mind?), the actual script lends itself to a much darker, Medea-like interpretation, which I believe Williams originally intended. This is Williams way of getting back at the evil Witch of the West who dominated his youth and who would exert her influence upon him for the rest of his life. It doesn't take a Freud to untangle this thread
If you want to watch a great performnace of this play, try to track down the "Broadway Theater Archive" 1973 version with Katherine Hepburn as Amanda, Sam Waterston as Tom, Michael Moriarity as "The Gentleman Caller," and Joanna Miles as an unforgettably vulnerable and poignant Laura. The Paul Newman 1987 theatrical release had a strong cast as well, but can't compete.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
great!!, 9 May 2009
another great drama by tennessee williams, showing the complexities of real life, and how one can live in an illusion to escape life
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10 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
plain and simple, 26 Feb 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Glass Menagerie (Penguin Plays & Screenplays) (Paperback)
The layout of the play is easy to read and make notes on. There are useful notes at the front of the book to help understand the performance of the play. A perfect version if you are studying the play in school.
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