UAlbany Theatre Program Kicks Off Production Season with American Classic
ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 5, 2023) — The Theatre Program of the University at Albany’s Department of Music and Theatre will kick off its production season with The Glass Menagerie, an American classic by playwright Tennessee Williams, later this month in the Performing Arts Center (PAC).
Directed by Shaun Patrick Tubbs in his debut production at UAlbany as the new visiting assistant professor of directing, the show is a memory play presented through the eyes of the character Tom, and made an as-yet undiscovered Williams an overnight sensation.
Six performances will be held: on Wednesday, Oct. 18, and Thursday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 20, at 3 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 22, at 2 p.m. The production will be presented in the round, with the stage visible to the audience from all sides, in the PAC’s unique Arena Theatre.
“The Glass Menagerie is rightfully considered to be Tennessee Williams' most significant or well-crafted work, not only for its story and characters, but also because of its inventive, theatrical elements, specifically the play's form and structure,” Tubbs said. “I am most excited to explore the questions the play raises about reality, memory and illusion.”
The play, which originally premiered in Chicago in 1944, should resonate with audiences today as it explores the isolation people feel when they struggle to connect with others and the world at large, Tubbs said.
“The Glass Menagerie mirrors Tennessee Williams’s own life, his very real isolation and that of his family’s,” he said. "It’s such a personal piece, but also a very familiar one, that connects and relates to audiences as much, or maybe more, today as it did when it first was introduced.”
The production is in keeping with the Theatre Program’s dedication to performing classic American plays such as last fall’s production of August Wilson’s A Piano Lesson, according to Program Director Kate Walat.
“Written by Tennessee Williams as a young artist struggling to make his name and discovering the themes and character-types that would continue to haunt his work, we hope that the play will speak to our theater students as young artists themselves,” she said.
Next up in the Theatre Program’s season is the contemporary comedy Clyde’s, by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage and directed by Jean-Remy Monnay, founder and artistic director of the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York. That will be followed by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew directed by Ryan Garbayo, UAlbany’s visiting assistant professor of acting, and the Fresh Acts festival of new plays written and directed by students.
The show is open to students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public. Tickets can be purchased online in advance or the day of on PAC’s website. For questions, contact PAC's main office at 518-442-3995 or [email protected].