The Glass Mendacity

Related Content

• Baby Doll, Forgotten, On Holy Ground and other new reviews . . .
  November 23, 2011
• Gregg Ostrin's Kowalski
  July 7, 2011
• Impro Theater's Chekhov Unscripted: How to Improvise an Homage to Uncle Vanya
  November 3, 2011
• Tartuffe at Theatricum Botanicum: Anarchy Eluded
  July 25, 2011
• Who's Your Goddess
  March 22, 2012

More About

• Tennessee Williams
• Stephanie Strand
• Tom Willmorth
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Theatrical Plays

Like this Story?

Get the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Make sign up easy with:

Devotees of Tennessee Williams will surely delight in this send-up of the playwright's best-known dramas. Maureen Morley and Tom Willmorth have blended characters and motifs from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire into one big, irreverent stew of laughs. Gathered together at the Belle Reeve plantation are Mitch (Ken Johnson, who doubles as a narrator), Amanda (Stephanie Strand), Maggie (Renee Scott), Brick (a dummy named Eliot Barrymore), Stanley (Joe Dalo) and Blanche (Catherine Cronin, who traveled by way of a certain streetcar). The occasion is Big Daddy's (a hilarious Quincy Miller) arrival from the hospital and a celebration of his birthday. As in Cat, the cigar-smoking patriarch has cancer but is told he is suffering only from a "spastic colon." And we must not forget dear Laura Dubois (Strand), who limps and vomits her way throughout, while fixated on her menagerie of animals made of ice cubes. From this disparate collection of Williams' familiars, the writers weave a quirky narrative involving lust, insanity, infidelity, sibling rivalry, intrigue and lots of mendacity. It probably helps if you have some knowledge of Williams' plays, (in one scene Stanley calls out "Starland," instead of Stella). Andrew Crusse provides the solid direction. Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd.; L.A.; Thur-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m.; through January 30. (213) 389-9860. thehayworth.com. An Ark Theatre Company Production
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Starts: Dec. 4. Continues through Jan. 30, 2009