Photo Flash: First Look at The Phoenix Theatre's THE GLASS MENAGERIE

The Phoenix Theatre's inaugural season of dreams continues with the company bringing new life to Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. This memory play runs January 17- February 2, 2020 in Chester County at SALT Performing Arts in Chester Springs. The theatre is dedicated to re-envisioning and reinvigorating the classics, making theatre accessible and affordable for all. The Phoenix Theatre is in residence at SALT Performing Arts, 1645 Art School Road, Chester Springs. Tickets for The Glass Menagerie are already on sale online at www.thephoenixtheatrepa.com. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $15 for students. There will be an accessible relaxed matinee performance on Saturday, January 25 at 2 p.m.

Tennessee Williams's autobiographical "memory play", a defining moment for theatre history, looks at the Wingfield family-frustrated writer Tom, his nagging mother, Amanda, who is often lost in memories of her genteel past, and his painfully shy sister, Laura-and the effect a visit from a "gentleman caller" for Laura has on all their lives. The play is an intimate portrait of a young man reliving his past to make sense of his present. The Glass Menagerie, written by one of the great American playwrights, holds a mirror up to illusion and reveals truth, as this broken family struggles with their reality while relentlessly holding onto their youth. Phoenix Theatre Managing Director Michael Hajek directs this classic work.

The Wingfield family at the center of this piece features two newcomers to The Phoenix Theatre. Catherine Ogden is playing Amanda, the matriarch of the family. Ogden has appeared in regional, touring and Broadway productions. Some highlights include: National Tour as Maria (The Sound of Music); Regional: Julie (Carousel), Nancy (Oliver), Mother (Ragtime), Shelby (The Spitfire Grill) & Diana (Next to Normal). Hannah Brannau will be playing Laura. Brannau appeared in this year's Philly Fringe. She has been a part of Acting Without Boundaries (founded by Christine Rouse in 2004) since it began. AWB is a non-profit theater group for physically disabled actors (Brannau was born with mild cerebral palsy). The organization rehearses at the Haverford School, with monthly workshops and puts on a fully staged musical every year.

Phoenix Theatre Artistic Director Seth Reich is playing Tom Wingfield. Reich, who is on the faculty of the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School Center for Performing and Fine Arts has not appeared on stage in five years but has been directing and teaching consistently. He has extensive stage and film credits appearing in: The Blacklist, All My Children, As the World Turns, Mystic River and more. Ryan Cassidy, who earned raves as Ferdinand in the theatre's debut production of The Tempest, returns as the Gentleman Caller, Jim. Cassidy recently appeared in the Eagle Theatre's World Premiere of Bruce Graham's Gary.

Phoenix Theatre Resident Designer Stephan Moravski is designing the set. The company is focusing on elements of nostalgia and bringing Williams' own history into the play with its design. Inherent Style is designing the costumes. Reich is performing double duty - designing the sound and creating a soundscape drawing from the blues sounds of Clarksdale, Mississippi where Williams grew up in the early 1900s. The company is dedicated to bringing a contemporary light to classic works and will be focusing on a modern design, while honoring Williams' history.

 

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