From AudioFile
In this semi-autobiographical play the domineering matriarch of the Wingfield family tries to find a "gentleman caller" for her fragile daughter. This is a "memory play"; the narrator/character, Tom, continually shifts from narration to his "in scene" character. This technique makes the drama a most effective selection for audio. The cast is extraordinary throughout, with each performer deftly handling the most subtle nuances of Williams's poetic realism. Jessica Tandy's portrayal of Amanda deserves special kudos. The production and direction of the performance are equally engaging. Through the use of sound effects and evocative music, the listener is swept into the troubled, poignant world of these haunting characters. s.l.d. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
The Glass Menagerie FROM THE PUBLISHER
The Glass Menagerie (in the reading text the author preferred) is now available only in its New Directions Paperback edition. A new introduction by the editor of The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, Robert Bray, reappraises the play more than half a century after it won the New York Drama Critics Award. This edition of The Glass Menagerie also includes Williams's essay on the impact of sudden fame on a struggling writer, "The Catastrophe of Success," as well as a short section of Williams's own "Production Notes."
FROM THE CRITICS
AudioFile
Despite being digitally remastered, this 1964 full-cast production featuring four of America's best stage actors doesn't quite work. They sound as if they're reading lines, rather than acting—they don't manage to make the listener suspend reality and enter the life of the play. Their Southern accents seem forced and the language stilted. In addition, as the actors wander in and out of range of the microphones, their voices strengthen, then fade. The third CD of the package contains rare recordings of Williams himself reading the opening dialogue and closing scene of the play, as well as several poems. It's interesting listening to his slightly nasal, gentle drawl, yet all in all, some archival material is best left on the shelf. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
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