2016-513-E Arts - One Song Productions - Spring 2016 Arts Grant Agreement

Browse Search

DocuSign Envelope ID:809BC67A-EBEA-4A56-8B10-57DCEODCD6EF One Song Productions Breathed New Life into The Glass Menagerie March 10-12 at CGT in Durham by Martha Keravuori and Chuck ii • March 14th, 2016 http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/2016/03/one-song-productions-breathed-new-life-into-the -glass-menagerie-march-10-12-at-cgt-in-durham/ Founded by area high schoolers in 2002 and made up entirely of young people, Chapel Hill-based One Song Productions breathed new life into an American classic with their most recent effort, a March 10-12 production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. We were enchanted by a line from the Director's Notes in their program, in which they "stumbled across" this old chestnut of the stage that we take for granted and, moreover, they have found a freshness in the play that only youth can provide. Insightful and very intentional directing is the keystone to this performance. Co-directors Bryna Loranger and Jax Preyer have given their cast support to find the hearts of their characters and the staging in which to express them. Their unjaded eyes have found the humor seldom seen in other productions, and the pacing and line delivery are precise and crisp. Tennessee Williams' 1944 Chicago and 1945 Broadway memory play tells the story of his mother, a broken women, lost in a world which has collapsed around her—a former debutante whose husband left her. Amanda's son puts bread on the table for the family by working in a shoe factory, and her daughter is painfully shy and unlikely to catch a husband. The only drives left in Amanda's life are for Tom and Laura to better themselves and improve her bare existence. Obviously well-rehearsed and with penetrating interpretation, Anastasia LeDuc manages Amanda's long lines with vocal variety and pacing, excellent facial expressions, and meaningful gestures. Anna LeDuc's Southern lilt is charming. Tom Wingfield, Williams' alter ego, is portrayed by Samuel Quinn Morris with a snazzily sardonic wit, and also facial expressions worthy of note. His long silent scene with Amanda is a virtual lesson in face acting. (The small black-box theater of Common Ground Theatre in Durham also provides the intimacy that the play requires.)