Between the Lines Studio Theatre made a gutsy call when they decided to perform one of the classics of American Theatre as their premiere production. Yet “The Glass Menagerie,” staged at Bethlehem’s Touchstone Theatre, is a fine reading of the Tennessee Williams drama about a Southern family in permanent crisis.
The story centers on the dutiful son Tom Wingfield and the two women who manage his life with the twin tyranny of well-meaning concern and helpless dependency. Trish Cipoletti plays Amanda with a dangerous combination of Southern charm and motherly domination. The love and hate between the two carries the play to its inevitable conclusion.
Eric D. Hersh is the tortured Tom whose wish to break the bonds of a son’s responsibility is skillfully balanced with his realization that he can never escape the cloying Amanda. Hersh’s inebriation scene adds a nice touch of humor to a mainly sad melodrama.
Tom’s other nemesis is his sister Laura, played with joyless pathos by Jennifer Santos. Her psychic pain is palpable throughout the production; she’s as breakable as her collection of glass animals.
In the final scenes, Tom brings home the famous “gentleman caller,” (Neil Grover) in hopes of getting him interested in Laura. It backfires, of course, and Grover skillfully plays both supporter and scoundrel who can’t escape the Wingfield family circle fast enough.
Amanda’s runaway husband is a fifth character even if he only appears as a portrait on the wall. Cipoliti’s Amanda makes you feel glad he made it out. She cajoles, she criticizes, she clings, she pushes away. I’m certain Miss Cipoliti herself is a lovely person, but her Amanda is someone to get away from fast, lest she try to accidently choke you with your muffler, as she does to son Tom.
Hersh co-founded the company with Rachel Williams, who very capably directs the play, with an assist from Kathy Patterson. Williams also did the excellent and flexible set in genteel poverty décor and Jeannie Olah provided costumes that appropriately suited the characters in each of their iterations.
Williams says she thinks of “Menagerie” as a struggle typical of many families. “I believe everyone who sees it can identify with not one, but all of the characters,” she said. “Tennessee Williams manages to encapsulate little bits of beauty in its dysfunction but also all the love that’s still there. The moments between Tom and his mother are real moments that people hang onto.”
Not only is the play about family, but several Williams family members assisted with lighting (son Todd), box office sales (husband Scott) and concession sales (daughter Madeline), and Hersh’s wife Jennifer took care of props.
Williams says she wants the company to be as much an educational venture for its cast and crew as a delight for the audience. “We think if we nurture the artist that the production will be fantastic for the audience. “ Williams said.
You might think a new company would choose something a little safer as their first show, for “Menagerie” is deceptively simple but its undercurrents could drown a lesser company. Judging from the fine production in their first time out, BTL Studio Theatre is very likely to succeed.
“The Glass Menagerie,” March 2-11 at Touchstone Theatre, 321 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem. 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturday s and 3 p.m. Sundays. $14 adults; $12 students and seniors. 484-935-3326.