دمهْض±²¥ State College Theatre presents Tennessee Williams' classic play, The Glass Menagerie, February 19, 20, and 21, 2009 in the GSC Administration Building Presidents Auditorium with the curtain rising at 7:00 p.m. each night.
The Glass Menagerie will feature veteran actress, Sarah Sivard of Gilmer County, as Amanda Wingfield, the mother of two grown, troubled children living in a depression-era St. Louis apartment. Her lifelong bitterness of having chosen the wrong beau, a telephone man who fell in love with long distance and later abandoned his family, is equally palpable. She now lives through her children: the dreamy Tom, portrayed by GSC Theatre newcomer William Herold of Pocahontas County, and the emotionally and physically damaged daughter Laura, which is played by proud actress Whitney Stalnaker also of Gilmer County. Their directionless lives leave her sad and disappointed.
Tom (Herold), the narrator of the piece and Williams' stand in, is a young man looking for adventures at the movies, in life, and in his scribbling of poetry. He is oppressed by his lackluster job in a shoe warehouse.
As Laura, Stalnaker essays an ethereal wisp of a shy, damaged young woman. Her crippled leg, really only a slight defect her mother constantly tells her, has crippled her spirit more than her body, while her shyness, her insecurities, and her social awkwardness are beautifully realized in Stalnaker's heartbreaking performance.
Zack Cyriacks of Braxton County, lights up the stage and this dour family's existence as Jim O'Connor, Tom's co-worker and Laura's unwitting "gentleman caller." He plays the role with such gusto and brio that you can easily believe this golden boy will achieve everything he sets his mind to.
The Glass Menagerie is recommended for all audiences. General admission is $3, while GSC students get in free. For more information about this play or GSC Theatre, contact Communications Professor Dennis Wemm at (304) 462-7361x7323.