The Glass Menagerie: The Deluxe Centennial Edition

Perfect exactly as expected

4.0 of 5 stars –I've read a number of scripts, but reading this one, of a play and movie that I've also seen, and due to the beauty of this play, it surprisingly reminded me of how different, in a good way, the experience can be from viewing it live or on screen.A lot has already been written reviewing this play, so instead of writing much about plot and character development, etc., I'll just share more of my personal reactions, impressions, and learnings.One of the personals is that with my living in Chicago and associated with its theater life, I enjoyed seeing that the play premiered in Chicago and was an immediate success, Tennessee Williams' first. And with my centennial edition, I enjoyed reading the two rave reviews for the play and its sensational actress, Laurette Taylor, who later magnificently reprised the role in the award-winning Broadway production that also started TW's rise to fame.One of the things I liked was reading this centennial edition. Every book/play should have a dramaturgy like this - in this case, I refer to the additional interesting pieces that were included that made this more than just reading a play. It includes the studied and insightful intro by Tony Kushner and bio essay by Allean Hale, prescient opening night reviews, production photos, TW's pre-play short story variation and post-play essay about success, poems by TW and three of his favorites (Cummings, Crane and Whitman), and the contemporary pioneering essay "The Homosexual in Society" by TW's friend Robert Duncan. Interestingly, I learned that the essay was a (not "the" but at least "a") catalyst informing the early modern gay liberation movement in the 50's. So I would recommend this edition for those wanting a broader context and background.As for the play? What can I say - it's a classic, and rightfully so. For me, I liked the noir qualities of the play, the characterizations, the pace and flow of the plot, and the various tensions and psychology behind the play.In reading it, it seemed more of a narrative than most plays, not a mere skeleton of dialogue that requires you to add context or nuance. This edition had the "definitive reading text" that the author preferred. So that meant there were more stage directions than playwrights usually put into their plays today, including extensive production notes and in scenes a projection screen that give extra insight on the key point of that scene. Plus, the MC/narrator had a number of his soliloquies, many lifted straight from the narrative short story.One final thought is that I had heard that this was another of TW's subtly gay plays, like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" or "Suddenly Last Summer" (which the movie version downplayed). The movie versions of his plays have (famously?) downplayed the gay subthemes; but in reading this one, I didn't see anything there to downplay in the first place. For sure, there is ambiguity about Tom's sexuality (most particularly about Tom's nocturnal absences), but it's so ambiguous, with no hints whatever in the play, that I believe readers fill in the blank however their preferences might carry them about Tom's sexuality.The only clue "might" be in the short story, but not play - when Jim leaves, Tom says he didn't know Jim was going to be married, prompting Mother to say "How peculiar." To which Laura gently replies, "No. There's nothing peculiar about it. People in love take everything for granted." (Tom thinks: "What did she mean by that? I never knew.") Did she out Tom? Both he and Jim claim that Tom didn't know, but did he know and cruelly brought Jim home anyway as a gentleman caller to spite Mother (or Laura, or both), or to satisfy his prurient gay interests? Only if we add this to another non-play piece of info, a similar character who is gay but has a different name appears in TW's later play "Vieux Carre" (but it was actually drafted before 'Menagerie"). Hmm - To me, if you look solely at the play, as most would, it's a stretch; but it's there if you want it.I may also have to consider the circumstances of the time. This was before TW was famous, when he was not at liberty, and indeed afraid of censure, to maybe reveal too much in this play of his own sexual desires and predilections. Once his fame was more secure, he could bring forth these desires in his characters more explicitly, but even with these he played it safe in the movie versions. But particularly so in "Menagerie," so we are left more to fun speculation, at least more so than we are in his later plays.However you look at it, this play was a pleasure to read, not just to watch.

Thank-you

Perhaps you love The Glass Menagerie, as I do, but aren't sure whether this is the right edition for you. I would say that if you are a big fan of Tennessee Williams, or are deeply interested in how a story evolves and is eventually developed into a famous play, then you will probably find much to enjoy with this Deluxe Centennial Edition. It also would help if you are used to reading books that soar high into the intellectual stratosphere, since some of the extra material here can be a challenge to read. I found Robert Duncan's essay particularly difficult, and Crane's poems were nearly indecipherable for me. Kushner's introduction was a little easier, though rather long at 48 pages. (I also thought it strange that he used the F-word in several places.) Allean Hale's essay was interesting.For me, though, this edition was a bit disappointing. I chose this edition mostly because I wanted to read the short-story version, "Portrait of a Girl in Glass". I thought it would be very similar to the play, but with some additional insights into the characters. Well, the basic plot is there, all right, but it fell flat. (Spoiler alert!) The thing that makes the play so powerful is the "near miss" of painfully shy Laura almost winning the heart of a man who understands and appreciates her. When her budding romance falls through, it leaves the theater goer (or reader) stunned - perhaps even in tears. And this is why Tom's guilt is so believable: he walked out on his family, leaving Laura to her fate. No wonder he wanted Laura to "put out her candles"! But the short story doesn't really establish Laura's crush on Jim, her gentleman caller. In the play, we find out that Laura has admired him from afar since their school days together. In the short story, Williams tries to establish the romantic interest through a coincidental resemblance between Jim and Laura's favorite character from a book. The connection between them is shallow. Consequently, when Jim walks out of her life, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. And Tom's guilt doesn't seem quite as heavy. If Williams had made the play just like his short story, it would have never been a big success.One of the most interesting parts of this edition is the quote from the playwrite, included in Kushner's introduction. It first appeared in The Portland Oregonian: "The Glass Menagerie has for me the peculiar importance of being the first play that I have managed to write without succumbing to the undeniable fascination of violence. It is my first quiet play, and perhaps my last." This quote explains why this has been the only play by Williams that I have ever enjoyed (so far): his other plays often seem to be violent and disturbing. Menagerie is so gentle and moving. Nobody is really being abused. Tom makes a selfish choice, but you don't hate him for it. You feel compassion for poor Laura, as Tom does, but you also feel for Tom.

Beautiful white hardcover.