The inner workings of the dysfunctional family have become common place on the television screen. Reality television explores the tensions of life in a rather exploitative fashion. So it’s refreshing to see the same theme explored in a different light on the Jasper stage, as was the case in the latest production of Tennesse Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie.

The characters are familiar to Tennessee Williams fans: the faded southern belle desperately clinging to past glories, the frustrated son pinned down by responsibility but yearning for escape, the emotionally crippled daughter struggling with mental illness. Yet the production offers a slightly different take on the characters than the past. The result works splendidly.

The story is of course the same: Tom Wingfield (Trevor Matheson) works his young life away at a shoe factory to support his mother Amanda Wingfield (Michelle Warkentin) – who yearns for a past full of wealthy gentleman callers and southern life on the plantation – and sister Laura Wingfield (Kim Julia Howard), who’s shyness proves crippling to the point of arrested development. The tension between the desires of the three main characters: the past, present and future act as the triggers for the ensuing drama. The production explores loss and expectations, and the creation and destruction of dreams.

The acting proved quite strong in the production, as a believable bond between the family members was certainly evident on stage. There have been many explorations of the Tom/Amanda Wingfield relationship, and this production aimed for realism. The children both love and are embarrassed by their mother, with her stories of passed romances and proper southern hospitality. Director Bonnie Gratz choses to focus on the growing distance between the mother and the son, as well as Amanda’s concern for her ‘unusual children’.

Gratz chose to speed up the pace of the production, as the actors chose to whip through many now famous lines of prose, rather than evoke the usual pregnant pause. Perhaps this is to keep the running time to a manageable two hours, or to increase the level of realism appearing on stage. It’s an odd choice for such a play (one which uses a screen with flashes of old actors and pieces of music meant to simulate memory), but Gratz went through great pains to ensure the relationships on stage were believable, and not merely grandstanding actors flitting about the stage.

The production has received strong reviews across the province, and Jasper was chosen as the final stop for the southern memory play.

The play was not without its hiccups. Music cues were a little off and confusing at times. The actors, especially Matheson, initially had difficulty projecting through the massive gymnasium. This affected the dramatic range of the actors early on. However, adjustments were made, and the performances strengthened in the second act.

The high calibre show once again brought to attention Jasper’s need for a proper theatre, if the town wants to continue to attract professional theatre companies.

If you build it they will come.