Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...with so many recent productions to choose from—including one earlier in the summer—this middle-of-the-road production directed by Josh Altman fails to justify itself. Sarah Mayhan is affecting as Laura, the not-quite-right Wingfield daughter; Jacqueline Grandt is too distant and dreamy, though, as overbearing matriarch Amanda. Maybe Grandt is trying to counterbalance the undue hysteria with which Ryan Heindl plays restless narrator Tom."
Stage and Cinema
- Recommended
"...Redtwist lives up to their name and puts their characteristic “red twist” on this show (their pun, not mine) with Henry Behel’s set design: the Wingfield apartment is wrapped by the iconic fire escape from which Tom narrates the play, but the fire escape’s long metal rods stretch all the way to the back of the set, where they twist upward into a barb. Behind that, there is about 15 feet of black, empty space, framing an oversized portrait of Mr. Wingfield, the notably absent patriarch (lighting designer Heather Gilbert highlights this portrait whenever it is thematically appropriate). Behel’s work—the highlight of this production—is extremely interesting and inventive, resulting in an utterly stunning and stark visual for the entire piece."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"... Some plays are so brilliant, so perceptive, so poignant that they can be seen time and again —each viewing revealing another gem. This is the case with The Glass Menagerie. In this classic work, four anguished characters — successfully depicted by Redtwist Theatre’s excellent cast —are not only unrelievedly human but also amazingly archetypal."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow
- Highly Recommended
"...Playwright Tennessee Williams wrote this autobiographical memory play. Williams gave the world a compelling glimpse of his childhood: a domineering mother, an endearing sister and an absent father. Director Josh Altman takes the splintered remains of Williams past and makes it real. The set designed by Henry Behel is like a type of doll house. There is an old fashion living room but it’s encircled by space. Not only is the audience looking into this childhood memory but Altman also has Ryan Heindl (Tom aka Tennessee) often on the outskirts as an observer. In addition, an over-size picture of the deadbeat father looms just outside the homey interior. It’s a powerful metaphor to the essences of the play."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"... For those of you familiar with Redtwist Theatre, that little black box that does red hot drama located in Edgewater, you know that you can always expect quality work, and with their latest offering, Tennessee Williams masterpiece, autobiography dealing with false hopes, desperation and survival, they have taken us closer into the personalities of the characters.For those of you unfamiliar, now is your time to learn why this company gets nomination after nomination from the Jeff Awards. Redtwist is a very intimate theater, a pure storefront located on Bryn Mawr Avenue, with people walking on the sidewalks only yards away from the stage, but once you enter this “black box” realty disappears- you are in a theater that allows the passion of the playwright and the work of the actors to allow you to leave your life outside on Bryn Mawr so you can see the lives that Williams has created on the stage."
Huffington Post
- Highly Recommended
"...Redtwist's cozy storefront space seats only about 50, yet set designer Henry Behel manages to capture both the trapped, claustrophobic nature of the Wingfield's St. Louis flat as well as the dreamy, suspended-in-time tone Williams' so carefully, yet bluntly, establishes in Tom's up-front monologue. Quite brilliantly, Behel uses a good chunk of Redtwist's limited space to provide distance between the main action and a giant mural of the family patriarch, who abandoned his family 16 years ago and left them reeling with regret and anger. His smiling, silent -- nearly smirking -- visage perpetually veers at the action from a removed distance -- a symbol that some might find heavy handed, but I found chilling."
