Huntington University to present ‘Glass Menagerie’
FOR RELEASE: Friday, September 7, 2007
Huntington, Ind.-The Huntington University Theatre Company will present "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 20-21 and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 in the Studio Theatre of the Merillat Centre for the Arts. The story centers on a family living in a tenement in St. Louis in the 1930s. Tom Wingfield, a would-be poet, works in a shoe warehouse to help support the family, but longs to travel the world. His frail sister Laura is a young woman who loves to tend her collection of glass figurines, but real-life encounters make her sick with fright. Their domineering mother Amanda, a one-time Southern debutante who pines over her lost youth and bad marriage, frets over their living conditions and her children's futures.
Amanda (Teresa Bower, center) shows affection to her two children, Laura (Kristen Kohaut) and Tom (Matthias Austin).
Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors, $6 for children 13 and younger, $5 for Huntington University students, and $9 for Huntington University faculty and staff. For tickets or more information, call the Merillat Centre for the Arts Box Office at (260) 359-4261 or log on to www.huntington.edu/mca.
Jay Duffer will serve as guest director for "The Glass Menagerie." He is an actor, director and writer. He has performed in venues ranging from Off-Broadway to regional theaters, from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to the Strip in Las Vegas. Off-Broadway, Duffer originated leading roles in "Sophie, Totie and Belle," "Wild Thing" and the critically acclaimed original version of The New Acting Company's "The Jungle Book." This past spring, he played a maniacal art teacher in "A Lesson in Art" at the Dixon Place Theatre in the Bowery.
Amanda (Teresa Bower) enjoys flowers from her son Tom (Matthias Austin).
He also directs the popular New York-based sketch comedy troupe, Freedumb, whose most recent shows include "Iran, Iran So Far Away" (The PIT, The 2007 Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival) and "It Takes a Village Idiot" (The PIT, The 2006 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, The 2006 Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, and Juvie Hall).
As a playwright, Duffer's original play, "Big Girl, Little World," premiered at the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival. His newest play, "Asleep in the Arms of God," has received several professional staged readings in NYC and is currently slated for production in the spring of 2008.
Laura (Kristen Kohaut) admires her reflection as her mother Amanda (Teresa Bower) looks on.
He is a founding member and the executive director for the New Works Development Program for Threads Productions, a faith-based theatre company located in Manhattan.
He holds a Master of Fine Arts in theatre arts from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a bachelor's degree in music education from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Duffer has been married to his wife, Melissa, for 10 years and resides in New York City.
The cast of "The Glass Menagerie" includes the following:
Tom: Matthias Austin, a sophomore theatre performance major from Wheaton, Ill.
Jim: Peter Owens, a sophomore history education major from Indianapolis, Ind.
Amanda: Teresa Bower of Fort Wayne, Ind.
Laura: Kristen Kohaut, a senior theatre performance major from Hackettstown, N.J.
The production staff includes the following:
Assistant Stage Manager: Bethany Edlund, a theatre performance major from Roanoke, Ind.
Scene and Lighting Designer: Brad DeYoung, a senior theatre design major from Lansing, Ill.
Stage Manager: Alicia Bonham, a sophomore theatre education major from Upland, Ind.
Props Master: Meghan McClaine, a junior theatre education major from Greencastle, Ind.
Director: Jay Duffer, an actor, director and writer from New York City
Sound Designer: Andrew Edmonds, a sophomore theatre design major from Beloit, Wis.
Costume Designer: Jenn Miller, a senior theatre and psychology double major from Berkeley, Ill.
