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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 11, 2004 Artattack takes 'Menagerie' in new direction By Robert H. Miller Tidings reviewer Was there ever a more arresting interpretation of Tennessee Williams' 1944 masterwork, "The Glass Menagerie," than that offered now by Ashland's Artattack Theatre Ensemble? You can see it in its venue at 310 Oak Street through Dec. 6. It tells the story of Tom Wingfield, a young man itching to seek adventure and escape from the suffocating atmosphere of a home dominated by his self-centered and over-aged debutante of a southern mother, Amanda, and yet mindful of his physically incapacitated and mentally frail sister, Laura. To earn his freedom, prodded by his mother, he sets up a date for Laura, bringing home Jim, a "gentleman caller," one of his workmates at the shoe factory. Things progress promisingly at first, but take a sudden disastrous turn that causes Laura to seek refuge in her collection of glass animals. Not only does Justin C. Lockwood direct with remarkable finesse, but he also has refashioned the script in one respect, taking some of Williams' marvelous stage directions and incorporating them cleverly into the lines of Tom, the character whom - in a brilliant stroke - he splits in two. Hence he has one actor portray the older Tom, and another the younger one. It is a device that heightens the play's poignancy. "The scene is memory and is therefore non-realistic," Williams himself insists, and that is the clue, if not the key, to the reimagined and innovative presentation visualized by Lockwood. There is no aspect that doesn't challenge our imagination. This is especially true of the artful set of the tenement where the Wingfields live - a table and stools, a day bed, a typist table, the frame of doors, and the suggestion of steps to a fire-escape; everything is white. Don't expect any props (the only nod to reality being cigarettes and candles); the actors mime as required. Even the rectangular painting that presides over the household is white. It is the very picture of the mother's handsome, smiling husband (the telephone man who fell in love with long distances). And all the characters, save the older Tom, are dressed in white, he, appropriately, in dark clothes. What of the little glass animals - the menagerie - so beloved by Laura that are all her world? No props, remember. Instead, Mike Stanfill whose lighting design is truly stunning, creates them by means of an extraordinary rotating prism reflected on the solid white floor. The cast rises to the challenge with aplomb. Linda Otto, wonderfully in control of Amanda, even in her uncontrollable moments, runs the gamut of emotion with never a misstep. She is superb. Andy Cuppy, a recent graduate of SOU Theatre Arts Department, strongly delineates the chain-smoking movie-mad Tom. He is explosive in his clashes with Amanda yet begrudgingly humble in his apology to her, one of the best scenes in the play, besides being a warm and caring brother. Nicole Strykowski, seen earlier this year in the title role of "Phedre" at SOU's Center Stage Theatre, is a beautiful Laura - her expressive features and luminous eyes capture her vulnerability and her introversion. Seeing her try to shut out the shouting and screaming, with hands over her ears and eyes shut, is deeply affecting. Yet how she glows under the ministration and attention of the "gentleman caller!" Dale Nakagawa in this role exudes a pleasant openness until he realizes that more than friendship is expected of him. Much of his encounter with Laura is played in candlelight, with both of them on the floor. It makes for a romantic atmosphere. (Tom used the money for the electricity bill to pay his dues as a member of the Union of Merchant Seamen; hence the black-out). Nakagawa' s back is largely to part of the audience, and many of the tender exchanges between him and Laura come across muffled. Lastly, there is Doug Mitchell, as the old Tom. In a haunting portrayal, he uses his voice splendidly throughout, moving the story along. His anguished cry at the end, when a shop window somewhere filled with pieces of colored glass, like bits of a shattered rainbow, conjures up a remembrance of things past, makes one choke back the tears. "Then all at once my sister touches my shoulder. I turn and look into her eyes. . . Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!" What else to say? Just thanks for the memory, Justin. Performances are on Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through Dec. 6 except on Nov. 22, 26,27,28, and 29. For information: 482-6505. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams