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Roadhouse Theater wins with ’’The Glass Menagerie”
Commendable performances compliment Williams' classic piece
The Glass Menagerie
at the Roadhouse Theater
1505 State Street
April 26-28 at Bpm
April 29 at 3pm
by Rob Prindle
The Roadhouse Theater
decided to kick a little butt.
Sure, Tennessee Williams is
perhaps the best American
playwright, and sure "The Glass
Menagerie" is probably one of
the finest American Dramas. So
was this a safe production by
director Scott McClelland and
company? Not even close.
"Continuity is for sissies”
according to McGelland.
The Roadhouse opened a few
years ago, shortly after the
demise of The Lincoln, Erie’s
only alternative theater. Erie
needed and deserved a small
theater. The Erie Playhouse
occasionally does something of
merit, but too often they go for
spectacle, trying to bring in the
more Broadwayish crowd. Erie
needed a new Lincoln, but the
Roadhouse became something
even better.
The Theater's maiden voyage
was "Danny and the Deep Blue
Sea.” It was unique in every
respect including the curtain
time. The play started at
midnight. Climbing into an old,
almost abandoned downtown
building is a scare no matter
during what time of day you do
Ninja Turtles offers harmless fun
Film has critics crying "Cowabunga!"
by Gary L. Nolan
Collegian Staff Writer
As finals approach and the mind is
challenged to concentrate, it is often
soothing to view something mindless. If
you are in search of a movie with no
symbolism, no confusing plot, and no
need to apply any dormant brain cells,
then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is for
you
The movie currently occupies the
number-one position in box office sales.
The characters, created in 1984 by Kevin
Eastman and Teter Laird, challenge street
punks called "The Foot"
As the turtles (Leonardo, Donatello,
Michaclangclo and Raphael) battle evil,
their dialogue is much like that of the
stereotyped "surfer dude." This
conversation, though novel at first,
quickly gets old. The attempts at cute
jokes often fall short, but the turtles'
adorable costumes and loyally help
reduce the frustrating language.
Their giant size, the result of a bizarre
Parental Advisory: The Collegian , when read
backwards, contains no satanic messages.
it, so you can imagine what
doing it at midnight is like. The
play, however, was fantastic.
Since then the Roadhouse crew
has reached startling highs with
plays like "Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof' But I have also had my
doubts when they've done average
stuff like "Night Like a Cat.”
But the plays lined up for the
next several months all look like
winners. They include two by
Shepard, a Beckett, another
Williams. They are also planning
a very enigmatic production that
promises to put a few people
behind bars for its sexual content.
But, back to the original
question. The Roadhouse Theater
and director Scott McClelland
decided not to play this one safe.
They did not because Tennessee
Williams wrote a surreal dream,
not just a drama, and the
production that I saw a few days
ago was a dream.
The stage was sparse, the
walls were covered with clear
plastic, the lights were dim and
the music was haunting;
changing from violin, to
carousel, to swing. The actors
moved slowly and deliberately
and the players pronounced each
word as if the entire play rested
upon it alone.
Tom - played by Darren
Setlow, a professional actor who
moved to Erie to work on this
production - opens the play by
explaining "Yes, I have tricks in
my pocket, I have things up my
sleeve.... I give you truth in the
pleasant disguise of illusion."
The play is Tom's memory and
he explains "Being a memory
play, it is dimly lighted, it is
sentimental, it is not realistic."
The cast never loses sight of
this important line. The play
turns out to be everything Tom
promises, and more. I am not
here to review Tennessee
Williams' work. It stands proudly
as one of America's ten best It is
a simple play about a complex
family living in St. Louis in the
This is the play that
every Erie dramatic
production will be
compared to for a very
long time.
1930’5. There are only four
characters. Amanda is the mother
of the narrator of the play, Tom.
Amanda was once a southern
bell, used to many gentleman
callers, but the man she chose to
marry left her several years prior
with two children. Her daughter,
Laura, a shy 24-year-old has very
little chance of living up to her
mother's past glory with men
callers. Tom is a dreamer who
would much rather travel and
write poetry than work in a
warehouse to support his mother
and sister. Tom invites a friend to
dinner to meet Laura. The
"Gentleman Caller" is the forth
nuclear accident, contributes to their
appeal. The turtles find themselves more
at home in the sewers of New York City
than above the streets.
The turtles seek to avenge the kidnap
of their Japanese sensei, Splinter. In their
flght they are supported by two human
allies, reporter April O'Neil and Casey
Jones. (No relation, Deadheads.)
It is easy to find yourself attached and
emotionally moved by both the turtles
and Splinter as they leam various lessons
about teamwork and loyalty in their
ventures.
The fight scenes in the movie mirror
Bruce Lee films, complete with flips,
grunts, and sorry-looking stunts. The
cast is proficient with several weapons,
and the turtles challenge all that dare to
remain on the side of their rival gang.
The movie is harmless fun, not to be
taken seriously. Many will find this
incredibly stupid and frustrating, but the
film certainly succeeds in reaching the
younger audience it targets.
The Collegian
character.
Each of the characters was
played with a distinct identity.
Alberta Nelson Gilman, a retired
professional actress, plays
Amanda without fault. She is
everyone's mother. She worries
and she dotes and she gets angry
when her children let her down,
or when she lets down her
children. Gilman played this
character with all the ease and
pain that it required. At no point
in the play does this woman look
like she is searching for an
emotion. And she certainly does
use a tremendous range of them.
Karen Shelinski played the
daughter, Laura, to perfection. I
have seen Shelinski work in
other plays, but never has she
played a character so well suited
to her stage presence and to her
eyes with their startled look of
fear. In the second half of the
play Shelinski gets a chance to
come alive when the caller
arrives. She is the focus of two
of the finest scenes in the play.
In one, because of her shyness,
she begs and pleads in honor not
to be forced to open the door
when the man shows up. In
another, when she is alone with
the man, she conveys the kind of
innocent sweetness that makes
this play. Other actors could have
played this part, but Shelinski
took her character and set it
deeply into the heart and mind of
everyone who viewed this play.
Jim, the visitor, is played
with just the right edge of
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slickness by a Roadhouse regular, 1
Dennis Dressier. He has done fine
work before, but never has he put
out with this kind of strength. He
plays a high-school hero turned
warehouse clerk and he plays it
with all the artificial, misplaced
arrogance that that type of
character needs. Dressier made
his character into the kind of too
slick, but largely sincere charmer
that the play needed.
Darren Setlow describes his
opportunity to play Tom in
"Glass Menagerie" as a "dream
come true" and I believe him.
Setlow brings energy and passion
to the role, his movements are
mellowdramatic and tense and
ultimately perfect.
From the candle lighting that
makes up a good part of the play,
to the background music, to the
dark atmosphere of the
Roadhouse, to the dramatic
pauses in Tom's speech, to the
frightened look in Laura's eyes,
to the masterful writing of
Williams with laugh out loud
humor and curl up in your seat
drama, to a thousand other small
pieces of perfection, this play is a
singular achievement.
Unfortunately it is only running
for one more week. I would call
the Roadhouse for reservations
now. Forget the Ninja Turtles,
you can always catch them on
videotape in a month.
Do not miss this opportunity.
This is the play that every Erie
dramatic production will be
compared to for a very long time.