by Macey Levin
Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, New York, presented Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie in October of last year. Their last weekend, with three sold out houses, was canceled due to an outbreak of Covid. They have revived the production for the first two weekends in April. I have seen it twice. Do not miss it!
Three of the four members of the cast have returned. The actress who had played Laura, Sarah Jayne Rothkopf, couldn’t re-join due to a scheduling conflict. Her replacement, Taylor Congdon, brings her own strengths to the part replicating Rothkopf’s wonderfully sensitive portrayal. The other cast members, Brett Mack (Tom Wingfield) Leigh Strimbeck (Amanda Wingfield) and Russell Sperberg (Jim O’Connor) have continued to grow in the production once more creating a heartbreaking and touching theatrical experience.
Excerpts from the original Berkshire On Stage review:
Every theatre-goer in America probably knows Tennessee Williams’ classic drama The Glass Menagerie. The play is about hope, fear, frustration and, ultimately, the search for forgiveness. Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, New York, has mounted a memorable and lovely production of this seventy-nine-year old masterpiece.
Director Steven Patterson has revived the original expressionistic design style as well as the music of Paul Bowles used in the original 1944 production. These two elements return the play to the Great Depression era when lives were on the edge.
Leigh Strimbeck as Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Leigh Strimbeck as Amanda Wingfield and Brett Mack as Tom Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Russell Sperberg as Jim O’Connor in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Russell Sperberg as Jim O’Connor and Leigh Strimbeck as Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Brett Mack as Tom Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Brett Mack as Tom Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Taylor Congdon as Laura Wingfield and Leigh Strimbeck as Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Russell Sperberg as Jim O’Connor and Taylor Congdon as Laura Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Brett Mack as Tom Wingfield and Taylor Congdon as Laura Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Taylor Congdon as Laura Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie,” directed by Steven Patterson, at the Bridge Street Theatre. Photo: John Sowle. 
Poster Art: Dina Bursztyn
As effective as the sound and style are, the power and emotional drive of the play are heightened by the cast. Ms. Strimbeck is different from her predecessors; she is more feminine and more sprightly. She would be a reproduction of an older Scarlett O’Hara. The anger is still present, but it’s tempered by real love and concern for Tom and Laura. Her laughter is sometimes a giggle. Her fear of the future hurts her more than the deep anger that audiences have expected. This makes her a more sympathetic woman who deserves our understanding. Her performance is almost endearing.
As Tom (Mr. Mack) narrates the story of his family there is a tone of regret and guilt tempered by some rueful tongue-in-cheek moments. In the flashbacks he ranges from rage to emotional repression. His confusion regarding the options life presents him are overwhelming. Mr. Mack offers a well-rounded performance of a young man trying to establish his identity.
In the famous candlelight scene between Jim and Laura, Sperberg’s concern for her is profoundly sincere. Jim voices the aspirations found in the American dream but he can’t fulfill them as a result of the Depression. His can-do spirit is a marked contrast to the defeat of the Wingfield family. This scene is beautifully played lit only by a candelabra and a minimal number of spotlights to faintly illuminate the background. It is a lovely piece of work by Rothkopf and Sperberg.
Patterson’s direction serves the play in that he allows it to flow without affectations … the events simply occur as Williams wrote them. The play and the direction are story-telling at its best. The audience is involved immediately with Tom’s opening monologue and continues to feel each emotional moment as it embraces us. His staging is simple and fluid creating interesting and affective pictures. It is a beautiful production to see.
John Sowle’s light design adds complementary textures to each scene and set which he also designed. The candelabra scene alone is a work of art.
This Glass Menagerie is a very brisk two hours and twenty minutes of entrancing theatre.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams; Director: Steven Patterson; Cast: Brett Mack (Tom Wingfield) Leigh Strimbeck (Amanda Wingfield) Taylor Congdon (Laura Wingfield) Russell Sperberg (Jim O’Connor); Set and Light Design: John Sowle; Costume Design: Michelle Rogers; Music: Paul Bowles; Production Stage Manager: Hannarose Manning; Poster Art: Dina Bursztyn; Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes, one intermission; April 4 – 13, 2024; Bridge Street Theatre, 45 Bridge Street, Catskill, NY. For information and tickets go to their website at www.bridgestreettheatre.org