"The Glass Menagerie" - by Tennessee Williams - Cannon Theatre (Devens, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Lexi Rock as “Laura Wingfield” with Cathy Koerwer as “Amanda Wingfield” in a scene from Tennessee Williams' "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" now playing at the Cannon Theatre in Devens, MA. until October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy Cannon Theatre)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion!”
- ("Tom") / Tennessee Williams
The Cannon Theatre
Presents Tennessee Williams'
"THE GLASS MENAGERIE"
Written by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Janet Tyndall
Producer Liz Chirico
Stage Manager Mary Beth Fletcher
Cast Includes: Cathy Koerwer as “Amanda Wingfield,” Ben Gold as “Tom Wingfield,” Lexi Rock as “Laura Wingfield,” Max Cantor as “Jim O' Connor.”
Additional Creative Team:
Set Design - Shawn Cannon; Tech Director/Set Build - Bret Bahe; Set Decoration - Shawn Cannon; Lighting Design - Jake Snyder; Costumes - Shawn Cannon; Sound Design - Bret Bahe; Hair/Makeup Design - Shawn Cannon.
Performances:
October 9, 2026 through October 25, 2026
(Contact Venue for Exact Dates and Times)
THE CANNON THEATRE, 28 Andrews Parkway, Devens, MA. 01434
TICKETS: For tickets visit www.thecannontheatre.org
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(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Cannon Theatre of Devens offers up an October treat with a fine staging of Tennessee Williams’ semi-autobiographical classic, "THE GLASS MENAGERIE."
The production, well directed for Cannon Theatre by Janet Tyndall, is a straightforward memory play.
Williams’ "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" contains a masterful blending of concepts: from the subjugation of one’s personal independence, to the frailty of another’s mental, physical and emotional health, to the overall struggle of a splintering family, ultimately shattering like glass.
"THE GLASS MENAGERIE" made its successful Broadway debut in 1944, subsequently winning the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1945 and instantly thrusting Williams into the limelight.
Set in 1930s St. Louis, Missouri, Tom Wingfield (Ben Gold) lives with his mother, Amanda (Cathy Koerwer) and sister, Laura (Lexi Rock).
Although the Cannon Theatre show draws, in no small part, from the memories of a young Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III, the memories are, from the outset, admittedly “fuzzy.”
Admittedly based on William’s own memories, the character of Tom breaks the fourth wall and tells us that what we see may not be strictly what happened.
(Photo: Ben Gold as “Tom Wingfield” in a scene from Tennessee Williams' "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" now playing at the Cannon Theatre in Devens, MA. until October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy Cannon Theatre)
Gold, Koerwer and Rock all render compassionate performances even when, at times, little compassion is due their respective characters.
Gold excels as Tom, a character that serves as both our narrator for the piece and to show us a young man at the end of his rope in his relationship with his mother.
Gold as the voice of the playwright walks us through the events, not only as they are about to unfold as interpreted on stage, but also to try and recall them (perhaps for Williams himself) as they actually happened.
Tom states the scenes are presented more as “truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.”
Tom is physically and emotionally exhausted, smoking and drinking extensively, mentally walking a frayed tightrope above what life has given him.
Tom wants nothing more than to leave the only existence he has known - which is not existence but mere subsistence.
Tom dreams of being a writer or a merchant seaman while stuck working for low pay in a factory warehouse while Amanda sells subscription renewals by telephone.
Yet the only thing Tom can control is that meager subsistence, barely making ends meet to support his mother and sister.
(Photo: Lexi Rock as “Laura Wingfield” with Cathy Koerwer as “Amanda Wingfield” in a scene from Tennessee Williams' "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" now playing at the Cannon Theatre in Devens, MA. until October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy Cannon Theatre)
Rock gives a sympathetic portrayal of Laura who is the ultimate tragic figure in Williams’ story and in his real life.
Williams was close with his actual sister, Rose, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young woman and was later institutionalized and lobotomized.
In "THE GLASS MENAGERIE," Laura has physical challenges which have taken an emotional toll on her, which Rock emphasizes quite well but never overplays Laura’s personal limitations.
There are parallels made in Williams’ compelling dialogue between Laura’s make-believe world of glass and Amanda’s unbreakable bond to the past.
Yet it is her mother, Amanda, who has emotionally repressed Laura to the point where she now lives in a world of illusion, comprised only of two sets of “companions”: her collection of glass figurines and an old Victrola.
Koerwer provides a solid performance as Tom’s overbearing and overprotective mother.
Amanda maneuvers and manipulates her children to keep them under her control, under her roof while totally dependent upon them to help maintain her own sad little universe.
Amanda focuses most of her attention (in the form of criticism) on Tom, while oblivious to the evident physical pain and emotional suffering of her xenophobic and homebound daughter, Laura.
(Photo: Max Cantor as “Jim O' Connor” dances with Lexi Rock as “Laura Wingfield” in a scene from Tennessee Williams' "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" now playing at the Cannon Theatre in Devens, MA. until October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy Cannon Theatre)
Fancying herself a true “Southern Belle,” Amanda forces Tom to set up his sister with an outgoing “gentleman caller,” played quite well by Max Cantor.
Amanda's scheme proves ironic as her own experience in the old-time tradition led to her failed marriage, as she was abandoned by her husband, a telephone company worker who “fell in love with long distance.”
This plot point is repeated throughout the Cannon Theatre show and allows Tom’s father, who is represented by a framed picture on the stage’s set, to act as an otherwise unseen fifth character in the play.
The father’s presence and influence are felt throughout the piece.
In fact, it continues to make one speculate if Tom (or perhaps Williams himself) did not unintentionally repeat some of the transgressions of his father during his lifetime.
The second act interaction between Rock and Cantor offers Laura a sweet, tender moment of sincere compassion but little hope of anything more.
(Photo: Lexi Rock as “Laura Wingfield” with Cathy Koerwer as “Amanda Wingfield” in a scene from Tennessee Williams' "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" now playing at the Cannon Theatre in Devens, MA. until October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy Cannon Theatre)
The Cannon Theatre's box set design for "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" allows for easy redressing between scenes which helps keep all scene changes fluid for most effective storytelling.
"THE GLASS MENAGERIE"” not only continues at the Cannon Theatre until October 25th, 2026 – it also continues to be an unbreakable classic.
Approximately 2 hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
Tennessee Williams' classic "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" is a story of family and the fragility of memory - an epic play that is sure to entrance audiences.
Amanda Wingfield, the faded Southern Belle who is patterned after Williams’ own mother, is desperate to marry off ailing daughter Laura and worries about wayward son Tom.
Saddled with the obligations left to him by his absent father, Tom, who also acts as the play’s narrator, arranges for an acquaintance, a gentleman caller, to pay a visit to Laura and sets off not only her own, but her mother’s hopes for a romantic future.
This memory play is set in St. Louis during the Great Depression and is widely considered to be one of the most significant plays of the 20th century!
ABOUT THE CANNON THEATRE
THE CANNON THEATRE was founded by Shawn Cannon and Bret Bahe, who shared a dream of creating a community theater – a place for learning, and great plays, a place where people could enjoy the company of others, laugh, and just lose themselves in the joy of artistic expression. Over the years, the theater incorporated, and then became a non-profit organization, managed so that every precious cent made from each production is carefully fed right back into the creation of the next. THE CANNON THEATRE board, which still includes the theater’s very active and passionate founders, invites you to join us and experience this welcoming community, whether as an audience member, an actor, backstage crew, or even director. We guarantee you will leave feeling satisfied!
28 Andrews Parkway
Devens, MA. 01434
# 978-448-2108
