Nance Williamson, Zachary Prince and More to Lead Pioneer Theater Company's THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Pioneer Theatre Company presents The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, October 21 - November 5, 2016.

The Glass Menagerie, a "memory" play by American playwright Tennessee Williams, premiered in 1944 and brought Williams his first commercial success. The play is somewhat autobiographical, with characters modeled after himself and his family, including his own mother.

It overcame a shaky start in Chicago but was championed by critics whose enthusiasm helped build audiences. The producers moved the play to Broadway where it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award in 1945. It received at least seven Broadway revivals with actors such as Piper Laurie, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris and Jessica Lange in the role of Amanda. The 2013 revival starring Cherry Jones received seven Tony nominations.

With the success of The Glass Menagerie Williams went on to become one of America's most highly-regarded playwrights.

This production marks the first time that Pioneer Theatre Company has produced The Glass Menagerie.

Nance Williamson, Hanley Smith, Zachary Prince and LOGAN James Hall make up the Equity cast.

Nance Williamson plays the matriarch Amanda Wingfield. Williamson's Broadway credits include Romeo and Juliet (Orlando Bloom), Cyrano (Kevin Kline), Henry IV (Kevin Kline) and Broken Glass. Off-Broadway credits include Shakespeare in the Park, Primary Stages, Minetta Lane and Pearl. Nance has performed extensively across the country including the Denver Center, The Old Globe Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Kennedy Center, Trinity Rep, Actor's Theater of Louisville, Playmakers Rep., Syracuse Stage, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Rep, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theater, Philadelphia Co., Alliance Theater and was a company member at the Dallas Theater Center. Television credits include all the Law and Orders, Prince Street, Fringe, Dawson's Creek, Dallas and The Good Wife. Williamson was last seen at PTC in The Ladies Man in 2007.

Hanley Smith plays Laura Wingfield. Smith's regional credits include Venus in Fur at the Fulton with Logan James Hall, The Importance of Being Earnest at Gulfshore Playhouse, The Fantasticks at Virginia Stage and The Voice of The Turtle at Merrimack Rep. This is her PTC debut.

Zachary Prince plays Tom Wingfield. Prince's Broadway credits include Honeymoon in Vegas, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever and Baby It's You. Off-Broadway credits include Himself & Nora andThe Last Five Years at Second Stage (dir. Jason Robert Brown). National Tour credits include Jersey Boys (Frankie Valli). Regional credits include Triangle (Ben/Vincenzo; Theatre Bay Area Award - Best Actor) at Theatreworks Silicon Valley, Parade (Leo Frank) at Theatre Raleigh, Into The Woods (Baker) at Kansas City Rep (dir. Moisés Kaufman), Mann & Wife (Henry) at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik) at Portland Center Stage. This is his PTC debut.

New York-based Logan James Hall plays Jim O'Connor, the gentleman caller. Hall's regional credits include Venus in Fur and Other Desert Cities at the Fulton Theatre, Wit at North Carolina Theatre Center and A Wonderful Life at Goodspeed Opera House. He has also done extensive voice work in national TV and radio commercials. This is his PTC debut.

Guest artist Mary Robinson directs this production. Robinson has directed over sixty productions of both classics and new plays off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In New York she has directed Women on Fire by Irene O'Garden at the Cherry Lane; String Fever by Jacqueline Reingold at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Three Viewings by Jeffrey Hatcher at Manhattan Theatre Club; Lemon Sky by Lanford Wilson (for which she received a Drama Desk Nomination) and Moonchildren by Michael Weller, both at Second Stage; A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow at Westside Arts; Copperhead by Erik Brogger at the WPA and Twelfth Night at Theatre for a New Audience. Robinson directed An Inspector Calls at PTC last season and Of Mice and Men in 2012.

Scenic design is by guest artist Jason Simms. Simm's New York credits include designing for The Public, The Cherry Lane, 2nd Stage Uptown, The Pearl Theatre Co., Ensemble Studio Theatre, Soho Playhouse, The New Ohio, The Wild Project. Regional productions include Outside Mullingar, 5000 Miles, Venus in Fur (Philadelphia Theatre Co.), Ragtime, Lost in Yonkers, Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Bristol Riverside Theatre), Dear Elizabeth (People's Light and Theatre) and The Whale (Denver Center). Simms' designed last season's An Inspector Calls.

Costume design is by guest artist costume designer Tracy Christensen. Recent credits include Sunset Boulevard for London's English National Opera, starring Glenn Close, and West Side Story for Carnegie Hall's 125th Anniversary celebration. Other projects: Hand To God at City Theatre, Tribes at Barrington Stage, The Call at Theaterworks Hartford, The Other Place at Alley Theater, Guys & Dolls at Goodspeed Opera House (CT Critics Circle nomination), Sweeney Todd (starring Emma Thompson), Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill (HBO, starring Audra McDonald), Buddy at the MUNY, The Harassment of Iris Malloy at People's Light, Company (starring Neil Patrick Harris), Souvenir, Abundance at Hartford Stage, and Seussical for TheatreworksUSA (Lucille Lortel nomination). Christensen has also spent ten seasons at Chautauqua Theatre Company and is a Faculty member at SUNY-Purchase for costume design.

Lighting design is by Kirk Bookman. Bookman's New York credits include Charles Busch's The Tribute Artist, and The Divine Sister. Off-Broadway credits include What Then at the Ohio Theater, The Cook at Intar Theatre 53 and Recent Tragic Events at Playwrights Horizons (starring Heather Graham). Broadway (National Actors Theatre): The Sunshine Boys (Jack Klugman and Tony Randall), The Gin Game (Julie Harris and Charles Durning), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Right You Are. Irish Repertory Company: Playboy of the Western World, Eclipsed, The Importance of Being Earnest and Major Barbara. Other New York: Mondo Drama, Havana is Waiting, Force Continuum (Atlantic Theater Company), My One Good Nerve (starring Ruby Dee), The Green Heart at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Shawl, Rude Entertainment, The Book of Liz (David and Amy Sedaris), Les MIZrahi (Isaac Mizrahi), Hope is the Thing with Feathers, As Thousands Cheer and June Moon. Regionally, Bookman has designed at such notable theaters as Goodspeed Opera House, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Pittsburgh Public Theater, Repertory Theatre of St Louis and Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Hair and makeup design is by PTC resident designer AMANDA FRENCH; sound design is by PTC resident designer JOSHUA C. HIGHT.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE will play the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City. Prices: $25 - $44 in advance, and $5 more when purchased on the day of the show; Kids in grades K-12 are half-price on Mondays and Tuesdays. For more information, contact the Box Office at 801-581-6961 (Open 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Mon - Fri) or go to www.pioneertheatre.org.

Pioneer Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah's only fully professional theatre, performs at Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located on the University of Utah campus at 300 South and 1400 East in Salt Lake City, easily accessible by TRAX light rail. Free parking is also available and the theatre is equipped with an elevator, handicap parking, hearing assistance devices and other easy-access features.

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