Play Four of our 2023 Season
October 5 – October 15
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Steven Patterson
Sets and Lights by John Sowle
Costumes by Michelle Rogers
With Brett Mack, Sarah Jayne Rothkopf, Russell Sperberg, Leigh Strimbeck
One of just a handful of undisputed classics of the American stage, Tennessee William’s haunting “The Glass Menagerie” arrives at Bridge Street Theatre’s intimate “Priscilla” Mainstage for a two-weekend run October 5 – 15, 2023.
William’s poetically autobiographical memory play premiered in 1944 and catapulted its young author from obscurity into fame (and notoriety). BST will be presenting Williams’ moving remembrance of family ties, lost dreams, and shattered illusions incorporating elements from Williams’ original, pre-production draft of the script, and utilizing the incidental music composed for the initial production by author and composer Paul Bowles. The theatre has assembled a spectacular cast (three of whom will be making their Bridge Street Theatre debuts). Local actors Leigh Strimbeck (BST’s “The Lion in Winter” and “Lewiston) and Sarah Jayne Rothkopf star as Amanda Wingfield and her daughter Laura, with Pennsylvania-based actor Brett Mack as Tom, and Los Angeles-based actor Russell Sperberg as Jim O’Connor (the Gentleman Caller). Bridge Street Theatre Associate Artist Steven Patterson directs, with sets and lighting design by John Sowle, costumes by Michelle Rogers, and artwork by Dina Bursztyn. Production Stage Manager is Hannarose Manning.
“Our intention here at Bridge Street is always to illuminate, as clearly and theatrically as possible, the playwright’s original intent rather than trying to impose an interpretation of our own on the text,” says director Steven Patterson. “And with this magnificent cast, culled from across the country, audiences can expect a deep dive into what Williams was truly after when he first created this poignant, fragile, deeply moving remembrance of his own family.”
Experience one of the most moving plays in the American canon in a production that brilliantly honors its original intentions.
Bios
Leigh Strimbeck (Amanda Wingfield) is happy to be back at Bridge Street! Recent acting credits include: Eleanor of Aquitane in Lion in Winter and Alice in Lewiston at Bridge Street Theatre; Leonata in Much Ado About Nothing, Saratoga Shakespeare; Virginia Butley in Native Gardens at Gloucester Stage Company; Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit and Kate Keller in All My Sons with Voice Theatre of Woodstock; Tippy in Breakwater at Great Barrington Public Theater. Other regional theater acting and directing includes Storyhorse Documentary Theater; The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble; WAM; The Rep; Shakespeare and Co (Understudy for Tina Packer, Mother of the Maid); and Berkshire Playwrights Lab. Feature films: UnCivil Liberties, Fighting for Freedom, Little BiPeep and Lifetime Movie Network’s Off the Rails and Sleeping with My Student; short films Key Transition, Life Quest and in production Blind Man’s Buff. Head of the Acting Program for NY State Defenders Association Basic Trial Skills program and the author of the one-woman play The Queen of Fenway Court: Isabella Stewart Gardner as well as several other plays. leighstrimbeck.com
Brett Mack (Tom Wingfield) is honored to be making his debut with The Bridge Street Theatre. In 2019 he appeared in the off-Broadway production The Originalist at the 59E59 Theaters. Some past regional theatre credits include The Great Society and Hamlet at the Asolo Rep., Mezzulah 1946 and The Muckle Man at the Pittsburgh City Theatre, Leveling Up and The Tempest at the Hippodrome, Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar at The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, and The Illusion at the Chautauqua Theatre. He would also like to thank his family and donors for their constant support.
Sarah Jayne Rothkopf (Laura Wingfield). Sarah Jayne Rothkopf is an actor, yogini and travel curator with a passion for all things Theatre. Informed by study at Sarah Lawrence College, the Neighborhood Playhouse and a Masters at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, her journey has taken her to New York City, Los Angeles, London, and, lately, the Hudson Valley. With roles in a variety of independent films and theatrical performances over the years, Sarah Jayne is delighted to have recently performed in The Cake, Love is Love Play, and a staged reading of Monarchs at The Rosendale Theatre as well as Coupling at The Phoenicia Playhouse. She’s thrilled to be making her debut at The Bridge Street Theatre this fall with the wonderful cast of The Glass Menagerie.
Russell Sperberg (Jim O’Connor) is very excited to make his Bridge Street Theatre debut. Theatre (Select): We’ve Come To Believe, A Christmas Carol (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Small Mouth Sounds (Theatreworks Colorado); The Servant of Two Masters, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); Chamber Music (Emily Moler); Miles For Mary (Henry Greenberg); Versailles 2016, Given The Present… (En Garde Arts). Film (Select): Mysterious Ways (Upcoming), Townhouse Confidential, Ask For Jane, Just Buried, Earth & Moon, Scene Study, Selection. Russell has helped develop work with En Garde Arts, the Bushwick Starr, New Dramatists, Chalk Rep, The PIT, and The Tank. He’s the creator of the solo show minutes_12.2.08.doc and helps produce the popular sleep podcast Sleep With Me. For Mom. russellsperberg.com