Jessica Lange,
Ethan Hawke,
Robert Sean Leonard
The Glass Menagerie tells the compelling story of a St. Louis family struggling to cope with the harsh realities of the Great Depression and the bitter memories that haunt them. Revealed in flashback, the play follows the lives of shoe factory worker Tom Leonard, torn between his role as the family breadwinner and the desire to lead a life of his own, his abrasive mother Amanda Lange, once a grand Southern socialite, now trying to maintain her dignity amidst the gloom of the tenement, and Tom's frail sister Laura, who has retreated to an imaginary world caring for her collection of glass animals. As tensions mount and tempers flare, the prospect of a husband for Laura becomes their final chance for stability and escape. But the arrival of this gentleman caller Hawke could also deal a powerful blow that shatters their tenuous dreams.
The Williams classic was last seen on Broadway for a short-lived revival during the 1994-1995 season. It is being presented as part of the Kennedy Center's Tennessee Williams Explored festival this summer with Sally Field appearing as Amanda Wingfield.
Lange made her Broadway stage debut in the 1992 revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. She starred in the play again in 1996, this time in the West End production. She also starred in a made-for-television movie of the drama, earning a Golden Globe Award for her performance. During the 2000-2001 season, Lange returned to the West End to star in Long Day's Journey Into Night, receiving an Olivier Award nomination for her performance. An acclaimed film actress, Lange has garnered six Academy Award nominations and two Academy Awards one for her lead role in Blue Sky and one for her supporting turn in Tootsie. She last appeared on the big screen in Big Fish.
Leonard won a 2001 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his acclaimed portrayal of the young A.E. Housman in The Invention of Love. His other Broadway credits include The Music Man, The Speed of Darkness, Candida for which he earned a Tony nomination, The Iceman Cometh, Arcadia, Long Day's Journey Into Night for which he received another Tony nomination and The Violet Hour.
Hawke earned an Oscar nomination in 2001 for his work in Training Day. His other film credits include Dead Poets Society, A Midnight Clear, Alive, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, Great Expectations, Snow Falling on Cedars and Taking Lives. Hawke has developed an extensive theater resume as well. He co-founded the Malaparte Theatre Company, for which he directed a 1994 production of Wild Dogs!. His off-Broadway credits include Sophistry at Playwrights Horizons, Casanova at the Public,Killer's Head at the Public and The Late Henry Moss at Signature Theatre Company. He made his Broadway debut in The Seagull and appeared on the Great White Way earlier this season in the acclaimed Lincoln Center mounting of Henry IV.
This revival of The Glass Menagerie is reportedly likely to open at the Music Box Theater next winter.
