Play Review

The Glass Menagerie

Date: 1973

Director: Anthony Harvey

Amanda Wingfield: Katharine Hepburn

Tom Wingfield: Sam Waterston

 Laura Wingfield: Joanna Miles

Jim O'Connor: Michael Moriarty

          The Glass Menagerie is a film adaptation of the play The Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams.  The 1973 version is almost identical to the play because it does not have too many differences between the play, including the setting, scripts, and light.  The first scene is Tom walks along a river, and the setting is dark.  After he sits on the side of the river, he memorized his family, Laura, and Amanda.  Then, the story begins with Amanda's talking on the table in the evening, which is the same as the play told.  The play mentioned Tom enters the room and sits at the table when Amanda is talking, however, the film begins with Amanda's talking when Tom is already at the table.  In addition, in the film, Amanda talks to Laura at first and then accuse Tom pushing food with fingers, but in the play, the script does not clearly show who Amanda is talking to.  Therefore, in the film, the plot makes the story more intense and clear.  The main plot is the same as the play: Amanda is nagging to Tom and Laura, Tom always argues with Amanda and goes to "movie", Laura addicts to the glass menagerie and meets Jim, and in the end, Tom leaves home.  In the end, when Tom mentions that Laura touches his shoulder and he asks Laura to blow out the candles, Amanda is standing near Laura.  In the film, the scene is clearly an illusion, but in the play, it does not mention Amanda, and the scene is showed ambiguously.  The film specifically demonstrates a feeling of sadness and a feeling of regret.  We can clearly see that when Tom is sitting near the river and memorizing his story with Laura and Amanda, his face is full of sorrow.  He seems that he is crying.

          The staging is under the expectation because the play depicts the setting really well.  The room is small, and the clothes and the furniture look old.  The telephone and the tape player show the time of the play.  Moreover, the dancing hall is opposite to their apartment, which also follows the description in the play.  The music is an unexpected surprise to me because you cannot imagine what the music will be even if there are many music cues written in the play.  At the beginning, the scene is dark, and a person is walking on the street alone.  We can know later that the person is Tom. With the scene and the scenes after, the music is played by the piano solo.  The music is slow and simple.  There is no many complicated chord or notes combination.  The melody is played alone without many accompaniment chords.  The eighth step notes close to each other and is plated in a slow and continuous tempo.  Moreover, the notes are neither played in a low pitch nor a really high pitch, the music is sound comfortable.  Compare to the other pieces of music I heard, I have to say that the music does not show too many emotions.  It is not sad, and it is not full of regret.  The melody is played over and over again in the same pitch, same tempo, and same notes.  With the scene that Tom is sitting by the river alone, the music shows quietness with a little bit lonely, but not too strong.

          I like the acting of the actress of Laura.  When the gentleman caller, Jim, lifts Laura up and kisses her, there is a slow camera shot that records the faces of them closely.  Laura is enjoying the kiss.  After the kiss, Laura is still intoxicated in Jim's kiss and Jim's hug.  She closes her eyes and relaxes her body and leans on Jim's shoulder.  However, the camera changes to Jim's reaction.  Jim is shocked, and his open eyes and the frown shows how Jim does not appreciate the happening.  I love the reaction that the actress of Laura show.  After Jim pushes Laura off his hug and opens a distance between Laura and himself, Laura's head is too blank to make any reaction.  Therefore, Laura still keeps the gesture of hugging Jim.  Laura's face shows stagnancy, shocking, and sadness.  She is quiet standing near to a table, and all of the facial expressions and the gesture makes me feel so sorry for her.  It brings me a huge sympathy to Laura, and I begin to appreciate the fantastic acting of Joanna Miles.

          In the end, I think the film clearly expresses the plot and the theme of the original play.  It is worthy to watch, even though sometimes there are a lot of monologue-like conversations between Amanda and other characters.  Moreover, the film gives a great idea about how to show the story on a small stage because the setting in the play happens in a small room basically.  It tells us how to make the story enjoyable even though there is not a dramatic plot and actions.  We can make the story more attractive by showing our detailed gesture when we make an action and emotion when we say a lot of redundant lines.  

Amanda's Journal

1.
      Tom left, that is what I can predict, so I am totally cool with it.  After all, there is already a man left home a long time ago.  Therefore, nothing surprised.  But I am still depressed because it reminds me again that the prosperous past is gone, and I will be alone from the beginning to the past whoever passed through my life and whatever my life is.
      Oh yes, I still have Laura, but will she leave?  I do not know.  My mind is chaotic.  On the one hand, I want her to stay because I cannot live all by myself.  It is not fair that everyone left and only left me in the dark.  Yes, I know my kids hate me nagging at them, but that is the way for showing my care, my worry.  On the other hand, I want her to leave.  There is a day I have to leave this world, so imagine that if I died, who will take care of Laura?  I hope she will find a gentleman who loves her as I do, who worry about her like I did.
       I hope they will all have wonderful lives.

2.
      I worry about my daughter.  She is sitting on the chair quietly for a long time as if she is not there.  Her face is pale, her eyes are glassy, her hair is dry, and her hand voice is shaking.  After Laura gave out her special unicorn glass to Jim, she gave out the rest of glass menagerie to other people.  I was shocked at first because I cannot understand why she did it.  I once guessed she might be loved to jump out of her illustration, and it made me happy for a while until I saw her getting weaker and weaker days by days.
     She is like a ghost.  I hope one day she would find a good gentleman caller to save her lonely soul.  To be honest, even if she cannot find anyone, she should stand up strongly and live well.  But how I teach others about it?  I cannot even reach the goal. I miss Tom, but I do not know where he is.  He left like his father did, but fortunately, he often sends a letter to his sister every month.

3.
     I started to find more jobs in this town because I cannot afford Laura and me with the only part-time job, but it is so difficult to get one.  When I came to the admission office of any workplace, they asked me what I can do and what education I got.  Everyone glimpsed me for a second and never hung up their head.  They all kept asking questions and kept writing.  Their voice is as cold as a machine, and I can not see their smile.  I cannot even see their faces!  Do they start doing like that?  Do human start to treat people like that?
     I am so mad and so sad, and it made me feel that everyone does not like me, including Tom and Laura.  I feel like I am a vagrant lost in this world, and this feeling makes me sick.  Remember the past years, people were nice, and I was still beautiful and gorgeous.  There was nothing for me to worry about, but now I am continually worried and listen to others.

4.
      Alright, I did not find any job after a few weeks.  You know, I visited at least ten offices yearning to get a job, and because of that, I have to answer the same question over and over again and try not to forget their impolite neglect.  They begin to value the education more because the society needs the well-educated youths.  The competition is intense.  Therefore, it drives me thinking that maybe I should... walk out of the valley to gain more job opportunities... or get a higher education?  Time is so much different than the past, and it made me so scared that I cannot even sleep well.
      Laura is better now after a few days.  She does not sit in the same place staring out of the window for a whole day anymore.  She begins to read books and help me to do some chores.  Even though she still cannot show her smile or have any facial expression, I am glad she is turning better.  My daughter is back, and that is the most fortunate thing I got these days.

5.
     Ok, I decided to go to college at night first, and once after I finish the education, we can move out of the valley and start a new life.  I talked to the college office and after a lot of bargains and beggings, they allowed me to study in the school without any tuition.  Instead, I have to do the clean of the school.  It still satisfied me because I can finally see a possibility of the future.  I only have Laura, and I cannot lose her.
     The decision was so difficult to make, but once I saw Laura becoming more reactive, I thought there is something to change.  The old me love to look into past.  The story I told so many times was my proud, and I know the story made my two kids bored, but I can give up on telling that.  However, the good story cannot feed us and bring a comfortable life to us, so I decide to say goodbye to my past.  Yes, it is so enjoyable when you drop into your glory because there is no pain and no worries, but sorry, I cannot stay in the glory longer.  I feel like the past glory will make me lose Laura if I still stay in the past.

6.
     Laura left.  She kissed me and hugged me.  She smiled at me and said farewell.  And she left.  Without a second look.  Laura whispered thank you to me for raising her up when she hugged me.  Her eyes were shining, maybe there was the tear in her eyes.  I do not know.  I only felt cold.
     She looks like a real woman now.  There is no word to describe her.  You cannot tell that she is confidence or not now, and you cannot tell that she is outgoing or not.  You cannot see anything by looking at her face.  In other words, you can see everything through her appearance, confidence, happiness, sadness, and calmness.  She lived as a mystery.
     She said she will find her brother.  I know it is not true.  There is no address on the envelope.  She said she will never come back.  The place is nothing worth to her.  She said she will get a job out of the valley, maybe she will meet a man and have a marriage.  She said she might have friends.  She said she will have a family and have a lovely kid.
     She said she will love her life.  She said she hopes that I can enjoy my present.
     And she said, "Sorry, mom.  There is no letter from me."
     "Farewell."

7.
     This place is like a huge striking clock because it never stops going.  Therefore, the people who want to stay and give a glimpse of their past will be weeded out of this place.  And I never thought I will be one of them.
     I walked through a wonderful youth age, and I continued to feel that this property will be with me until I die.  I was too young and childish.  My journey will be a solitude that is full of lost.  I should know it earlier in order to not show my desperation too much.  For those who left, who said goodbye, who still stay, they are all so sure that they will have the most beautiful lives.  However, after hundreds of farewell, after thousands of hopeless moments, who else will embrace their happiness without any tears and doubt?  Well, hopefully when the happiness comes, I can have your warmest greeting, I can see you turning back from the long distance, and hopefully, when the happiness comes, I can stand by your side.  Hopefully, the people who left and the people who stay will meet in the end.
      "Once, if I remember well, my life was a feast where all hearts opened and all wines flowed."
      Farewell.
           

Plot Shape of Each Character

Laura

Laura's journey looks like water or ocean, which is full of the small curves.  It is quiet, and the curve line can expand almost infinitely.  The reason that I choose curve line for Laura is that she covers her thoughts up so well.  Since in the high school, she liked Jim, but she never let Jim knows.  Everything is deep under the water.  When the night comes, when people stand by the ocean, they cannot see anything clearly, but they can hear the sound of crashing waves clearly.  The waves are like people murmuring and telling their sorrow.  Laura is this kind of person, who is quiet in the daytime, but pour out her heart at night.  Glass menagerie is Laura's night that she can tell her story to the menagerie. 

TOM

  Tom's journey is not as quiet as Laura's.  He desires to run out of the valley and run away home.  He is easy to get angry.  Because he thinks his mother does not believe and support his dream, he always fights with his mother.  His journey and his temper are like a fire that is full of energy and direction.  Because the shape or arrow of fire is clear, which is toward the sky, it is like Tom's journey.  He has the temper, so he argues with his mother;  he has a dream, so he yearns to go out of the valley without any doubt.  What he did is what he wants to do, which is like the shape of fire, clear and unidirectional.

Amanda

I will draw Amanda's journey as a stair down to the place that we can not see.  Amanda had a good childhood.  Her family is not poor and she used to has beauty and honor.  However, after his husband runs away, Amanda's life is staying in the past.  She wants to reach the old prosperity, but all she did is let her memory go back.  I believe chasing past is not a good choice because it will lead you to a more vague illusion and give you a more deserted heart.  In the end, she is alone without her husband, her daughter and her son staying with her.  Amanda is literally alone, and it is what the past gives to her.

10 Discussion Questions

1.  Do you think Amanda can live without their children? 
2.  Will Tom live alone?  What about Laura? Can she live alone?
3.  Is Tom only a dreamer?
4.  What is Jim to Laura?
5.  What are the changes on Laura?
6.  If you set the scene, what light color you want to use?
7.  What is the theme of the music on this play?
8.  Does Tom still love his family?  If you act Tom, what the specific characteristic you want to act out?
9.  What is the main color of the play, and what color of costume for each character?
10.  When Amanda continuously looks back to the past, what specific skill and body language you want to use to show the change if you act Amanda?

Understanding of the Characters by Quoting

Tom

       "Look, Mother---I haven't got a thing, not a single thing left in this house that I can call my own."  

      Tom does not think the house and the family are belong to him.  In other words, Tom does not have any second thinking about he belong to the family, even though he earns money to support his family.  We can know that Tom is seeking the world out of the small valley from other sentences, but the deep concern in his heart to push him make the decision is lacking a feeling of belonging.  The reason of it probably is that his mother does not support his hobby and his dream, or his mother talks too much about her sweet memories and expectation to truly care about the inner thoughts of Tom.  Therefore, Tom is frustrated about the situation and wants to leave. 

Laura

       "But, Mother--- I'm--- crippled!"

       Laura does not have too many lines in the play, so it is easy to show that the girl is really quiet.  For this personality, someone are quiet with birth, but someone are quiet when they grow up.  The sentence above classifies Laura is probably the second one.  Laura used to like a boy, but then she is not confident to contact him now.  She use her crippled excuse to stop her mother's nagging.  Amenda desires Laura to communicate to other people, but Laura makes a lot of excuses to run far away from the society.  However, from the sentence we can know that, all the excuses are to cover her inferiority.

Amenda

       "We can't have a business career.  No, we can't do that--- that just gives us indigestion."

       Amenda is still living in the old ancient time, who not only looks to the past and misses her husband but also keep a traditional old concepts about women.  She believes the destiny of a woman is marriage, and she regards being a wife as a position of women's lives.  For her concepts, unmarried women are lost in the society because she cannot rely on anyone.  Even though it is reasonable for her to have an extreme concept because her husband's leaving dragged the family into poverty, she could not deny a woman's value.