The Glass Menagerie

Unabridged
Author: Tennessee Williams
Narrator: Various Artists
Genres: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date: July 2000
Length: 3 hours
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD

Overview

A full cast performance featuring Montgomery Cliff, Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris, and David Wayne in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie. Available on compact disc

Few plays have explored the byways of the human heart as poignantly and poetically as Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. In this touching audio, we meet the embattled Wingfield family: Amanda - faded southern belle, abandoned wife, dominating mother, who hopes to match her daughter with an eligible "gentleman caller," Laura - lame and painfully shy, she evades her mother's schemes and reality by retreating to a world of make-believe; Tom - sole support of the family, he eventually leaves home to become a writer but is forever haunted by the memory of Laura.

Also included on this audio are priceless recordings of Tennessee Williams bringing his own interpretations to the wistful opening monologue and the tragic ending, as well as to his own brilliantly charming poetry and his uproariously wicked short story, The Yellow Bird.

Reviews (2)

The Glass Menagerie

Written by Lore Hiney on September 12th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 5/5

How many time can you read, listen to, watch this story before you stop finding new interpertations, emotions, or reasons for one more time. Timeless, yes. But so rich in memory of a world that once was. The readers were perfect. I felt I was in the room with them. This is one story that could have used a sequel... :)maybe not.

Glass Menagerie

Written by M. Irons from Hyde Park, MA on April 26th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 5/5

Their loneliness and unfinished dreams haunt the characters in Tennessee Williams's "The Glass Menagerie." The domineering mother, whose husband left her because he fell in love with "long distance,'' the aspiring son, a writer caged by his mother's grip, the young girl crippled by her own insecurities reveal a story of great dysfunction of trapped feelings and repression. The play is wonderfully performed and poetic. Jessica Tandy was superb as the overbearing Amanda whose mission is to have her daughter Laura, played by Julie Harris, married by a gentleman caller. And Tom, carrying the weight of the family on his shoulders, anger and repression was masterfully captured by Montgomery Cliff. The one moment of truth came in the form of the gentleman caller whose candor and honesty allowed Laura to see she has been caged by her own mind.