Glass Menagerie [Paperback]

"Fine listening...It is wonderful." -- -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Moving and hauntingly effective." -- -- Boston Herald --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

This all-new, all-star film version of a beloved American classic combines the monumental talent of the biggest and best film stars with the literary genius of Tennessee Williams. Paul Newman directs. Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich, Karen Allen and James Naughton star in the motion picture from Cineplex Odeon Films.

Tennessee Williams (1911 - 1983) first won recognition with the Broadway production of The Glass Menagerie in 1945, followed by his masterpiece, A Streetcar named Desire in 1947. Later hits included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly Last Summer, Sweet Bird of Youth, and Night of the Iguana. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Despite being digitally remastered, this 1964 full-cast production featuring four of America's best stage actors doesn't quite work. They sound as if they're reading lines, rather than acting--they don't manage to make the listener suspend reality and enter the life of the play. Their Southern accents seem forced and the language stilted. In addition, as the actors wander in and out of range of the microphones, their voices strengthen, then fade. The third CD of the package contains rare recordings of Williams himself reading the opening dialogue and closing scene of the play, as well as several poems. It's interesting listening to his slightly nasal, gentle drawl, yet all in all, some archival material is best left on the shelf. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.