In Rehearsal with Judith Ivey and Off-Broadway's The Glass Menagerie

It’s easy to see why Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie became a phenomenon when it made Broadway debut in 1945. The play has drawn a parade of formidable actresses to the role of overbearing mother Amanda Wingfield, and now two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey is stepping up to the plate in the Roundabout Theater Company's off-Broadway transfer from the Long Wharf Theatre. The classic drama about what happens when a gentleman caller arrives on the doorstep of the wilted Wingfield family also stars Long Wharf veterans Patch Darragh as Tom Wingfield, Keira Keeley as his sister Laura and production newcomer Michael Mosley as the gentleman caller, Jim, all of whom have been painstakingly honing their performances with director Gordon Edelstein in anticipation of the run (which begins previews on March 5 and opens March 24 at the Laura Pels Theatre). Broadway.com dropped in on the quartet and the creative team during a recent rehearsal to see what it takes to capture an American institution on stage. Click on to see The Glass Menagerie in rehearsal.