‘The Glass Menagerie’

Jeremy Benson as the "gentleman caller" shares a laugh with Laura (Laura Bozzone) in the Lost Nation Theater's production of "The Glass Menagerie."

At Lost Nation Theater

Lost Nation Theater will continue its 20^th season at Montpelier’s City Hall Arts Center with the American theater classic "The Glass Menagerie." Tennessee Williams’ award winning memory play will be performed Thursdays through Sundays, May 22-June 8.

In the 1930s, in a small tenement apartment in St. Louis, the Wingfield family awaits your visit. Williams’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece is a moving family portrait of expectations, hopes, and dreams deferred, tinted with the delicate brush of bittersweet memory.

Former Southern belle Amanda yearns for her idealized youth, while her grown children, Tom and Laura, struggle to escape her overbearing maternal influence. Torn by a duty to support his mother and sister in a mind-numbing factory job, Tom yearns to break free and explore the world. Laura, his fragile, shy sister, escapes into her own world through a collection of glass animals. Just when happiness seems beyond their grasp, hope arrives in the form of Jim, a genial coworker of Tom’s who unwittingly arrives for dinner as a "gentleman caller."

This remarkable journey, told through the prism of Tom’s memory, gives us an intimate acquaintance with four complex people, whose small triumphs and tender failings speak to the universal human condition.

Lost Nation’s production is directed by NYC’s Peter Sander and features Janis Stevens in the pivotal role of the family matriarch, Amada Wingfield. Her recent credits include major roles Off-Broadway, at The Walnut, Maine Shakespeare, and The Sacramento Theater Company.

Completing the cast are three accomplished actors who are making their debuts on the LNT stage. Laura Bozzone plays Laura, and her NYC credits include a bevy of Shakespearean roles, including Lady Anne in "Richard III." Jeremy Benson comes directly from playing Claudius in a production of "Hamlet" directed by LNT Shakespearean favorite Gus Kaikkonen, to play the gentleman caller. Maine actor Christopher Reiling, whose credits include major roles in such shows as "Prelude to a Kiss" and "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" with the Portland Stage Company, portrays Tom.

The play is rated PG-13 and is not recommended for children. Infants and toddlers are not admitted to the theater. For tickets, call 802-229-0492 or go online at www.lostnationtheater.org. The City Hall Arts Center is wheelchair accessible, and LNT offers large-print programs and assisted listening devices. Please let the box office know of any access needs you may have when making your reservation.

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