Theatre UAB presents “The Glass Menagerie”

Amanda Wingfield, a faded remnant of Southern gentility, now lives in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura, who has a physical handicap and debilitating shyness. When Amanda convinces Tom to bring home from his workplace a “gentleman caller” for Laura, the illusions that Tom, Amanda and Laura have each created in order to make life bearable collapse about them. By Tennessee Williams. Directed by Dennis McLernon. Performances at 7:30 p.m. nightly Feb. 26-29, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, Sirote Theatre.

Theatre UAB’s production, directed by Dennis McLernon, features nontraditional casting. Williams’ 1945 play is a timeless depiction of the “all-in-the-family” drama. However, this UAB show is a unique production that you probably have not seen before, says dramaturg David Parker.

“We have chosen to explore it from the perspective of an African American family in the midst of the Jim Crow era,” Parker said. “Set in 1939, it has been years since the end of the first World War and the scourge of The Great Depression still lingers. The United States’ active involvement in World War II is still two years away. Given the continued prominence of Jim Crow laws and other extenuating circumstances, our characters are confined to their status. There is still social resistance to women expanding their reach beyond the home, and segregation stymies the upward progression of black men in the workforce.”