Review: THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Alhambra Theatre And Dining

Well, after almost one year, the media is back to limited shows in Jacksonville, FL! The Alhambra Theatre and Dining has done all they could to keep the arts alive during this turbulent time. Round of applause to the wait staff, directors, producers, actors, and everyone involved. I am thrilled to be in a beautiful world that provides a distraction from the COVID-19 world. There truly is nothing like live theatre! Now, onto a review of Tennessee Williams's The Glass of Menagerie.

I cannot emphasize how entranced I was by this play. While the play is set in 1945, many of the themes ring true today. Williams's play follows a family trying to make ends meet. The family has been abandoned by the unnamed father, requiring the son to step up as the "man of the house." The mother wants so badly for her daughter to be married off to a wealthy young man with good character, she implores her son to find a man for his sister at his place of work. During the second act, the audience is introduced to this "gentlemen caller", who just happened to go to high school with the son and daughter.

The mother, Amanda Wingfield (Hillary Hickam), is a domineering mother feeling the need to direct her adult children, even in the most minor of circumstances. Hickam is spot-on as a domineering and worried mother. Hickam's character constantly makes reference to her glory days in the south, where she had many gentlemen callers. This constantly makes the daughter (Makenzie Rivera) feel inadequate due to her shy spirit. Hickam has the perfect cringe moments where you could hear the nervous laughter from the audience as she would attempt to make a joke or speak highly of herself and her children to impress the gentlemen caller, Jim O'Conner (Adam Fields).

The son, Tom Wingfield (Rodney Holmes), is the frustrated provider for the home after his father abandoned the family. Holmes is also the narrator of the play. He leads the audience between scenes to explain his perspective on the situation and, at times, the world around him. It is palpable how burned-out Holmes's character feels with his job in the shoe factory. Holmes wants to escape the town, his job, and his family to chase dreams of a world better than the one he currently resides in. Holmes constantly has a smart remark for any demand his mother barks at him. Holmes is extremely witty and entertaining as Tom Wingfield.

The daughter, Laura Wingfield (Makenzie Rivera), is a shy, peculiar, physically disabled, and single young woman. Rivera is remarkable. The moment she entered the play, the audience observed she was a shy and demure character. I was impressed with how soft-spoken she could remain through the entire play. Rivera's character was the embodiment of "aww." Rivera conveys that the character lives in her own world and is content with her state in life but yearns for her family life to be calm and will do anything to have everyone get along. While content, when Rivera's character meets the gentleman caller (Adam Fields), she instantly is a love-struck teenager once again. The audience is rooting for the two to finally become a pair, the air was instantly sucked out of the room when all falls apart due to his impending nuptials.

The last character the audience meets is Jim O'Conner (Adam Fields). Fields plays a lively and ambitious character looking for more out of life by climbing the executive ladder. Fields's reactions to everything Rivera says is the definition of a helper. He truly wants to help her and get her out of the rut he perceives her to be in. The audience could feel his zest for life and admired the energy he presented on stage. However, when the bomb is dropped that he is going steady with the intention to married in two months, every good feeling the audience may have felt was gone.

The audience was left speechless by the performance. The actors were supreme in The Glass Menagerie. Jacksonville audiences will be taken on a roller coaster of emotions in the production. Seating is limited due to COVID-19 protocols, so be sure to check in on Alhambra Theatre and Dining's website for information on tickets and protocols! The Glass Menagerie will be here now through March 21, 2021.

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