“If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it. It isn’t so much his mirror as it is the distillation, the essence, of what is strongest and purest in his nature.� Tennessee Williams
NEW CITY PLAYERS presents at
THE VANGUARD SANCTUARY FOR THE ARTS JOHNNY CONTINI
RYAN MALONEY
TRACY MANNING
KRYSTAL MILLIE VALDES in
Tennessee Williams’
THE GLASS MENAGERIE Director
TIMOTHY MARK DAVIS Stage Manager
ANDREW PAUL DAVIS Scenic Design
Lighting Design
RYAN MALONEY
JOEL DESOUSA
Costume Design
Sound Design
SARA BAILEY
ANDREW PAUL DAVIS
Original Music composed by PAUL BOWLES THE GLASS MENAGERIE is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. on behalf of The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. Haze & herbal cigarettes will be used throughout this production.
A note from the Director,
TIMOTHY MARK DAVIS Desire. Longing. Hope. Discontent. Restlessness. Fear. The future. The past. Memories. Perhaps the greatest power of The Glass Menagerie is that it confronts such monumental human themes using relatively simple circumstances. If our production moves you, and I so hope that it does, it won’t be because there is some gargantuan plot device that drives home the playwright’s point. It won’t be because there is some trick of theatrical spectacle that will make you “ooo” and “ahh.” It probably won’t be because of any particular element at all—whether lights, music, costumes, or the scenic design—although these are sure to reinforce the particular “plastic” quality of the play that we’ve diligently worked to create for you. No; if you are moved by this play, I believe it will be because you empathize with the characters and consequently get up close and personal with your own fear of the future, discontent with the present, and/or regret of the past. The characters that Tennessee Williams has drawn in this beautiful play are like us. They ache with fear that what lies ahead of them is only brokenness. They are paralyzed by either the glory or the pain of their past. They can give no attention to the present moment because of their preoccupation with what has happened or with what might or might not happen. They are forever trapped by their obsession with “...the long-delayed but always expected something that we live for.” Again, I’ll say, they’re like us. So why do it? Why put on such a play? Sounds pretty drab to be honest. I’ll let Tennesse Williams speak on our behalf: So successfully have we disguised from ourselves the intensity of our own feelings, the sensibility of our own hearts, that plays in the tragic tradition have begun to seem untrue. For a couple of hours we may surrender ourselves to a world of fiercely illuminated values in conflict, but when the stage is covered and the auditorium lighted, almost immediately there is a recoil of disbelief. ‘Well, well!’ we say as we shuffle back up the aisle, while the play dwindles behind us...as we pass beneath the marquee, we have convinced ourselves once more that life has as little resemblance to the curiously stirring and meaning occurrences on the stage as a jingle has to an elegy of Rilke. - Williams from his essay “The Timeless World of a Play” The power of theatre, of course, has always laid in its ability to confront audiences with an inescapable experience because of the sheer magnitude of human presence. Do not take these moments sitting in the dark for granted. Do not leave the theater and think that what you’ve seen is untrue or irrelevant as Mr. Williams warns. Find yourself in these characters. Look at your aching heart with courage. Question the power that your past may have on you. Be sincere about how controlled you may be by your fear of the future. Seek forgiveness and forgive. And finally, know that those around you are wounded as well. Reach out a hand and recognize that perhaps we’re not so different after all. I’ll try to do the same.
Please join us for one of two talkbacks to hear from the actors and production team about the play and the process. Immediately following the performances on Sunday, June 19 & 26.
The Glass Menagerie
CAST THE MOTHER ....................................... Tracy Manning HER SON ................................................ Ryan Maloney HER DAUGHTER ........................ Krystal Millie Valdes THE GENTLEMAN CALLER ............... Johnny Contini SETTING The entire action of the play takes place in the Wingfield apartment in St. Louis, between winter and spring of 1937. PART I: Preparation for the Gentleman Caller 15 MINUTE INTERMISSION PART II: The Gentleman Calls
TRACY MANNING, THE MOTHER
Tracy Manning is Director of Theatre at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. She received her BA in Theatre from Taylor University and her MA from Indiana University. Notable acting roles include performances in Doubt, The Rainmaker, Fools, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Wit. This is her eleventh year at Taylor where she directs three productions per year, teaches and develops coursework and mentors students. “Special thanks to my husband and children who make who I am and what I do possible. Love you more than life. To my daddy and momma who allowed me to study this passion God put in me and trusted Him to take care of all my needs. To God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit who once formed the world, incarnated Himself into it, and empowers me daily; who continues to gift and empower his people to incarnate the word so that we might, through the power of theatre, view ourselves and the world honestly, with compassion & great hope.”
The Glass Menagerie CAST(continued) RYAN MALONEY, HER SON Originally from the cornfields of Indiana, Ryan recieved his BA in Art from Taylor University. Professional acting credits include: The Taming of the Shrew (Lucentio), The Speckled Band (Watson), Thirst (The Gentleman), Wit (Jason). University credits include: Romeo & Juliet (Mercutio), Waiting for Godot (Vladimir), Noises Off (Garry), Incident at Vichy (Lebeau), and All My Sons (Chris). “From the bottom of my heart and with all my love, thank you Jess, for always being willing to ‘pursue that flighty temptress— adventure’ with me.” ryanandrewmaloney.com KRYSTAL MILLIE VALDES, HER DAUGHTER Krystal is a South Florida native who graduated with her BFA in Theatre from New World School of the Arts (UF). Her professional acting credits include, Barefoot in the Park (Corie Bratter), NCP’s Rabbit Hole (Izzy), Killer Joe (Dottie), The Project Theatre’s Sound Bite (Kat), Cabaret (Rosie), Gypsy (Thelma), and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Columbia). University credits include: Zelda Fitzgerald in her original one person show entitled Ladies are Never Fools, Hamlet (Ophelia), The House of Bernarda Alba (Martirio), A Flea in Her Ear (Lucienne), Julius Caesar (Portia), Twelve Angry Jurors (Juror 10), Balm in Gilead (Babe). “Thank you, to my fellow company members for your hard work, Tim for letting me play, and to my tiny, mighty family and Ian for your love & support.” JOHNNY CONTINI, THE GENTLEMAN CALLER
Johnny is a proud Fort Lauderdale native. He earned his BA in Theatre at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Acting credits include: NCP’s No Exit (Garcin), NCP’s Red (Ken), NCP’s Rabbit Hole (Jason), Reasons to Be Pretty (Greg), Glengarry Glen Ross (Blake), Proof (Hal), and King Lear (Edmund). He aspires to work with talented professionals who have a strong passion for storytelling and a deep commitment to their craft. jpkcontini.com
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The Glass Menagerie
PRODUCTION TEAM Director ........................................................... Timothy Mark Davis Stage Manager .................................................. Andrew Paul Davis Scenic Designer ..................................................... Ryan Maloney Lighting Designer .................................................... Joel DeSousa Sound Designer ................................................ Andrew Paul Davis Costume Designer ........................................................ Sara Bailey Technical Director ................................................. Alyiece Moretto Light Board Operator ....................................................... Carey Hart Box Office Manager ...................................................... Dave Smith House Manager ..................................................... Megan DeGraaf Graphic Designer .................................................. Michelle Hopper Run Crew ................. Anna Hopson, Eleana Manning & Jesse Veliz TIMOTHY MARK DAVIS, DIRECTOR New City Players’ production of The Glass Menagerie serves as the culmination of Tim’s M.A. in Theatre Studies degree from Regent University. Directing credits include: The Drowsy Chaperone, The Curious Savage, Into the Woods, Rabbit Hole, Flowers for Algernon, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Incident at Vichy. Acting credits include: Red (Rothko), Godspell (Ensemble), Noises Off (Freddie), Proof (Robert), All My Sons (Joe Keller), A Christmas Carol (Scrooge), A Streetcar Named Desire (Mitch), The Boys Next Door (Norman), The Crucible (Danforth),and J.B. (Mr. Zuss). timothymarkdavis.com
ANDREW PAUL DAVIS, STAGE MANAGER Andrew is a Fort Lauderdale native currently pursuing writing and directing for Film and Theatre at Taylor University. He is also a freelance cinematographer. Andrew has directed original short films such as Why Leah Left, Casa Grande, Winter of ‘79, and Knee Deep. For the stage he has directed the New City Players productions of Red and No Exit, as well as Agnes of God at Taylor University. Acting credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius), Rabbit Hole (Jason), God of Carnage (Michael), The Miracle Worker (James), and The Cherry Orchard (Trofimov). andrewpauldavis.com
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About the playwright,
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS A brief timeline of Williams’ life leading up to when he wrote The Glass Menagerie quickly reveals the autobiographical nature of the play.
1911
Thomas Lanier Williams III is born on March 26. In the family, he is known as“Tom.”
1914
Tom’s father, Cornelius, takes a job as a traveling salesman for the International Shoe Company of St. Louis.
1924 1926 1931 1932
Tom’s mother, Edwina, buys him a secondhand typewriter for ten dollars.
1937
Tom’s sister, Rose, is committed to a psychiatric ward in St. Louis, then diagnosed with schizophrenia at a Catholic convalescent home. In the summer she is moved to a state hospital in Farmington, Missouri, where she is given shock treatments.
1938
Tom graduates from the University of Iowa with a degree in playwriting. He submits his full-length plays and a group of one-acts under the name “Tennessee Williams.”
Tom enrolls at Soldan High School. Tom enrolls at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Tom fails ROTC during the spring term and is taken out of college by his father and put to work as a clerk at the International Shoe Company where he works for 3 years.
1940-41
Williams moves to New York. His first potential Broadway play, Battle of Angels, is produced by The Theatre Guild in Boston. It closes after two weeks and the Broadway run is canceled.
1942
Williams travels extensively between Mexico, St. Louis, New Orleans, Macon, Jacksonville, and Provincetown.
1943
On January 13 a bilateral prefrontal lobotomy is performed on Rose. While working briefly as a screenwriter in Hollywood, Williams adapts his draft play “The Gentleman Caller,” based on his short story “Portrait of a Girl in Glass,” for the screen, which MGM rejects.
1944 1945
The Glass Menagerie opens to favorable reviews in Chicago on December 26.
The Glass Menagerie opens on Broadway on March 31 and goes on to win the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for best play of the year.
“My father thought writing was a lot of foolishness, especially poetry writing.”
Coming up this season with
NEW CITY PLAYERS AMBRY, A STAGED READING
A NEW WORK BY RICK NEGRON Directed by Ryan Maloney Performances August 19 & 20 First Lutheran Church, Fort Lauderdale Following Hurricane Andrew, Randy moved his wife Kathy and his daughter Ambry to South Florida in search of construction work and a better life. Randy’s addictions and bad decisions have cost the family their income and home; his solution is for them to live illegally in the storage unit with their belongings until his disability checks kick in. Kathy escapes this harsh reality through medication and memories. Now seventeen, Ambry must decide whether to stay with her dysfunctional family or strike out on her own. Regardless of the cost.
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New City Players
FOUNDING MEMBERS Artistic Director ............................. Timothy Mark Davis Managing Director ......................... Krystal Millie Valdes Marketing Director ................................ Johnny Contini Production Manager ................................. Ryan Maloney Literary Manager ............................. Andrew Paul Davis
NEW CITY PLAYERS WOULD LIKE TO SAY A VERY SPECIAL “THANK YOU!” TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE GENEROUS SUPPORT HAS MADE THIS PRODUCTION POSSIBLE! Mr. William Hayes & Ms. Celeste De St. Aubin Mrs. Jan Lashbrook Mr. Aaron Mills The Tennessee Williams Key West Exhibit Nicole Stodard & The Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts Taylor University Theatre Calvary Christian Academy Fine Arts Department
201 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL, 33401 (561) 514-4042 | www.palmbeachdramaworks.org
WHO WE ARE New City Players is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), ensemble theatre company in Fort Lauderdale. OUR MISSION We exist to produce exceptional classic and contemporary works that provide an emotional and transformative experience for every audience member. OUR VISION To see people from all walks of life in our city experience spiritual and cultural renewal through theatre.
New City Players is a proud member of the South Florida Theatre League www.southfloridatheatre.org
“I’d like to see people getting a lot more for what they invest in the way of effort and time. It’s insane for human beings to work their whole lives away at dull, stupid, routine, anesthetizing jobs for just a little more than the necessities of life. There should be time— and money—for development. For living.” Tennessee Williams
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