If you have never seen a good production of Tennessee Williams' signature play, this workmanlike version is an excellent introduction: nicely mounted, sensibly directed, and expertly played. Except, however, for some few inspired moments in Steven Sutcliffe's sensitive and subtly suggestive portrayal of Tom, Williams' semi-autobiographical narrator, this Glass Menagerie is not a particularly memorable or extraordinary version of this perhaps overly familiar American masterwork.
Director Miles Potter gives the play a realistic reading, paying little more than lip service to its impressionistic elements and giving his wife, Seana McKenna, full rein to star as Amanda, which that superb actress is too bright and tasteful to overdo.
Matthew MacFadzean is a rather colorless Gentleman Caller, and Sara Topham is reasonably fragile and attractive as Laura without suggesting Laura's haunting vulnerability and otherworldly appeal.
