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ITHACA, NY: On August 24, 2006, the Kitchen Theatre Company (KTC) will launch its 2005-06 / 16th Season with Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. The first of seven plays in the Kitchen's 06-07 Main Stage subscription season, underwritten by Tompkins Trust Company, this American classic begins with two previews on Thursday August 24th and Friday, August 25th at 7:30pm, and opens on August 26th running through September 17th 2006.

This dramatic masterwork of the 20th Century, awash in memories and secrets, is a perfect fit for the Kitchen, articulating big ideas of life and the finely etched details of the human heart and continuing the Kitchen's commitment to nurturing new plays while reinvestigating the great works of the past.

The Kitchen's production of The Glass Menagerie has been created by the collaborative vision of its director, Rachel Lampert (now celebrating her 10th anniversary as the Kitchen's Artistic Director), long-time Company designer Steve TenEyck, along with a cast that includes three long standing Company members -- Karl Gregory (Tom), Susannah Berryman (Amanda), Jesse Bush (Jim) -- and an exciting young newcomer, Kirsten Kollender (Laura).

The Glass Menagerie opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on March 31, 1945 and heralded the arrival of a great new voice for the stage, Tennessee Williams. In Menagerie, we follow the story of a family, the Wingfields, and their struggle to survive in Depression era St. Louis. We meet the matriarch, Amanda (Susannah Berryman) and her two grown children: the distant and dreaming Tom (Karl Gregory) and the timid Laura (Kirsten Kollender), the keeper of the titular menagerie.

When we join the Wingfield's tale, they are living in a cramped apartment, fighting to scratch out a meager living between Tom's warehouse job and Amanda's odd jobs, after abandonment by Mr. Wingfield who abandoned his family obligations many years prior. Each character copes with a form of escape: Amanda escapes to her gentile Southern past, recounting all her former glories to her children; Tom dreams of escaping his life of perceived servitude; and Laura escapes into her world glass animals and her father's Victrola records. But hope springs eternal and Amanda's revelries of the past become grand plans for the future with Tom's promise of a "gentleman caller" (Jesse Bush) for Laura; a sign of hope or a disturbance that will shatter their fragile home.

"It is a privilege to work with this text and to be able to bring it to the stage with this cast of actors," says director Rachel Lampert. "This is a powerful start to our new season."

Scenic and lighting designer Steve TenEyck with Associate Designer Solomon Weisbard transform the Kitchen's intimate space to create the haunting world of this memory play. Corning Museum of Glass Artists Bob Carson and John Hargrave provide Laura's intricate glass pieces in this production, the same pieces from the 2005 revival of Menagerie at the Barrymore Theatre on Broadway. For this production, Mer Pantaleoni Boel has composed an original sound score. Costume design is by Hannah Kochman.


Performance Dates:
August 24, 2006, Thursday at 7:30 pm (Preview 1 of 2)
August 25, 2006, Friday at 8:00 pm (Preview 2 of 2)
August 26, 2006, Saturday at 8:00 pm (Press/Opening)
August 27, 2006, Sunday at 4:00 pm (Matinee 1 of 4)

August 30, 2006, Wednesday at 7:30 pm
August 31, 2006, Thursday at 7:30 pm
September 1, 2006, Friday at 8:00 pm
September 2, 2006, Saturday at 8:00 pm
September 3, 2006, Sunday at 4:00 pm (Matinee 2 of 4)

September 6, 2006, Wednesday at 7:30 pm
September 7, 2006, Thursday at 7:30 pm
September 8, 2006, Friday at 8:00 pm
September 9, 2006, Saturday at 8:00 pm
September 10, 2006, Sunday at 4 pm (Matinee 3 of 4)

September 13, 2006, Wednesday at 7:30 pm
September 14, 2006, Thursday at 7:30 pm
September 15, 2006, Friday at 8:00 pm
September 16, 2006, Saturday at 8:00 pm
September 17, 2006, Sunday 4:00 pm (Final Matinee/ Closing)

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