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Memories Abound as UK Stages ‘The Glass Menagerie’

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2005) – The University of Kentucky’s Theatre Department will open its 78th season with a performance of Tennessee Williams’ seminal work “The Glass Menagerie.” Russell Henderson, an associate professor of acting and voice, will direct UK’s production that will run Oct. 13 – 23 at UK’s Guignol Theatre. The classic memory play, set in St. Louis in the 1930s, explores the lives of Amanda Wingfield’s family. Wingfield is a Southern belle past her prime. Her dreamer son Tom yearns to escape, while her daughter Laura continues to withdraw more from life. The play, narrated by Tom, is related in memory and introduces an extensive visual pattern of symbolism. Four elements constitute the substance of the dominant symbols and motifs: glass, light, color, and music. These symbols help reveal deeper aspects of characters and underlying themes of the play. “The Glass Menagerie” is remembered as the piece that brought Williams his first taste of fame and fortune as a playwright. The play would set the stage for recurring themes and character types that appear in his later literary works. Williams’ pursuits to work in theatre took him from New Orleans’ French Quarter, which influenced much of his later writing, to Los Angeles and finally New York City. Williams wrote plays throughout his university career, but did not achieve extensive dramatic success until 1945 when “The Glass Menagerie” opened on Broadway. The show ran a year and a half and won Williams his first New York Drama Critics Circle Award. During the course of his life, he would write more than 70 plays, as well as screenplays, poetry, short stories and novels.

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An Equal Opportunity University THE GLASS MENAGERIE 2 – 2 – 2

The production’s director, Henderson, earned his master’s of fine arts from Trinity - The Dallas Theatre Center. He teaches courses in acting, specializing in vocal production, dialects, and audition techniques. Henderson has appeared as an actor on both the mainstage and studio season stages. He has directed numerous productions, including “Pirates of Penzance,” “Pride's Crossing,” “The Three Sisters,” “When Pigs Fly,” and “The Kentucky Cycle.” Henderson is known as the long-time director of “The Stephen Foster Story,” one of the region's most acclaimed outdoor dramas. The four UK theatre students featured in this year’s production of “The Glass Menagerie” include, Dara Tiller, the domineering mother, Amanda Wingfield; Crystal King, portraying the distant daughter, Laura; Fonzie Geary, as the troubled son Tom; and Kyle Weishaar, as a gentleman caller. The play will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13-15 and Oct. 20-22 in the Guignol Theatre in the College of Fine Arts Building on Rose Street. A matinee is scheduled at 2 p.m. Oct. 23. Opening night there will be a reception for the audience and cast in the Tuska Gallery following the performance. The production is made possible by the Lucille Caudill Little Research Endowment for Theatre. Tickets are $15 for general admission; $10 for UK faculty and staff and senior citizens; and $5 for students. To reserve tickets, call the Singletary Center for the Arts ticket office at (859) 257-4929. ###

An Equal Opportunity University