THE GLASS MENANGERIE A REVIEW

Getting right to the point,the Roundabout theatres' new production of THE GLASS MENANGERIE is sublime, magical, terrific or any other superlitive you care to heap on it. Director Gordon Edelstein has staged Tennessee Williams' masterpiece with such care and know-how that it becomes [for me anyway] a breth of fresh air in a rather stale theatre season.
This is more of a memory piece than a play with all the action coming from the narrators' mind as he recounts his memorys of his frowzy Southern belle of a mother and his lame sister, and the quartet of actors present constitute the finest ensemble acting to grace a play in a long time.
As the overbearing mom Judith Ivey is simply magnificent. I was a toddler in 1945 when Laurette Taylor played this role and I understand that her performance was legendary, but I doubt that even she came up to Ms. Iveys' fresh and intelligent take on the role, and as her lame daughter Keira Keeley gives a radient performance. Patch Darragh gives a fine account of himself as the narrator/son and Michael Mosley is just right as a possible sutor for the daughter.
This production came to New York by way of the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven Conn.where it recieved rave reviews. They were not in error because this fresh take on THE GLASS MENANGERIE is a marvelous theatre evening and one of the few don't miss events of the season.
At THE LAURA PELS THEATRE 111 WEST 46th STREET N.Y.C. THRU JUNE 13th.