Submitted by Erica Irving of the Montgomery Blair High School CAPPIES Theatre Review Group

Blowing glass is a delicate procedure. Heat and cold, tension and pressure, must be applied in just the right proportions, working in opposition to create something beautiful. Like a hand-blown ornament, Tennessee William’s enduring classic, The Glass Menagerie, possesses both the durability to survive for decades and the vulnerability to shatter in a moment of reckless use. It stands to reason, then, that a successful production of this semi-autobiographical work would likewise rely on the precise balancing of opposing players. The Duke Ellington School of the Arts’ recent production, indeed, conformed to this philosophy, with each member of the small ensemble contributing a distinct character to the dramatic mix.

Amanda Fernandez displayed versatility as Amanda Wingfield, a Southern belle scrambling to recreate the gentility of her youth amidst the gloom of Depression-era St. Louis. Fernandez deftly balanced pathos and wry humor in her nuanced delivery, particularly during the second act. Her performance provided much of the momentum that prevented the show from dragging.

As son Tom, Devin White stood in direct opposition to Fernandez’s fiery Amanda. Tom’s cool, but not emotionless, reflections on his family’s trials create the framework of the play, and White’s expressive face conveyed both an aching desire to escape his lot and a mounting anger toward Amanda without sacrificing his character’s detached air.

Ellenor Riley-Condit formed half of another opposing pair in her performance as daughter Laura. Riley-Condit’s strong physical choices, including a stiff, closed posture and fidgety hands, made her character’s constant anxiety painfully clear. Her representation of Laura’s socially crippling limp was quite consistent, and never veered into caricature.

As Jim O’Connor, Laura's much fussed-over Gentleman Caller, Sam Lahne burst into the Wingfields' world with generous energy. Lahne’s gregarious mannerisms gave his character an unwitting recklessness that placed pressure on the devastatingly tense Laura.

Just as a few slip-ups in the glass-blowing process will not fracture a piece, the actors’ occasional modern gestures and garbled lines did not compromise the overall success of the performance. While these lapses momentarily dented the illusions of mature, world-weary characters that had been created, nothing was totally shattered.

Like Laura’s beloved collection of figurines, Duke Ellington’s production of The Glass Menagerie was worth placing on a high shelf to admire and preserve, thanks to the delicate interplay of dramatic forces that forged the experience.