TexARTS is bringing a stage legend to life — Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.”

The show will feature an “all-Austin” professional cast led by star of Austin stage Babs George. Texas State University’s Michael Costello will direct the show.
“It’s our first major production of the year and is an integral to our longer-range vision of presenting all forms of professional performance and art here in the lake region,” explained TexARTS co-founder Todd Dellenger. “And what a way to start? This is one of the greatest American plays without question — perhaps one of the best-known and studied American play ever, written by the legendary Tennessee Williams.”
Williams is commonly considered America’s best playwright. His other works included such staples as “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.” He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948 for the latter.
The legendary Katherine Hepburn played the mother, Amanda, in Emmy-winning TV movie in early 1980’s. Jessica Lange played the mother in the most recent Broadway revival.
It is a melancholy tale first performed on Broadway in 1945, meeting with astounding box-office success and a Drama Critics Circle Award.
“The Glass Menagerie” is a memory play, and its action is drawn from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield. Tom is a character in the play, which is set in St. Louis in 1937. He is an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Mr. Wingfield, Tom and Laura’s father, ran off years ago and, except for one postcard, has not been heard from since.
TexARTS joins several nationally prominent theaters in producing this American classic in recent years, including the Cleveland Playhouse, Chatauqua Playhouse, Arizona State Theater Broadway, Kennedy Center, to name a few,
“This classic is widely studied by students as great piece of literature — based on one of WIlliams’ short stories and originally written to be a film for MGM prior to it’s premiere as a play in Chicago in 1948 from whence it went on to Broadway,” Dellinger said.
For students with identification, there is a Thursday special offer for $12 per ticket. New, $24 reduced ticket pricing is offered for all shows in upper corners and side seats introduced with this production. Other tickets remain the same prices — $30, $34 and $40.
The show is certain to be a big hit, so it is recommended to obtain reservations as soon as possible. Ticket can be purchased online at www.Tex-ARTS.org or by phone at 852-9079 ext 101.
Dellenter describes TexARTS as “a nonprofit community asset — a center for excellence in arts education eight professional performance serving all ages throughout the lake region and beyond.”