The glass zooa production of The Pearl 29was the second relevant work in the 2024-2025 season Teatro Principal de Palma and again in a single performance on September 27. Interesting proposition because the way of working in La Perla 29 coincides with the author’s intention – nothing less than Tennessee Williams– by deciding to write this work.
American critics have directly linked Williams’s style to southern gothic for his focus on dark themes and characterized by its disrupted and oppressive environments. it’s all in The glass zoo. Furthermore, this is part of the approach of La Perla 29, inspired by scenic research where the seams of the assembly of the piece are highlighted.
The first of The Glass Menagerie (original title) suddenly made Tennessee Williams a celebrity. This drama was considered, upon its release, as a masterpiece. It is no coincidence that autobiographical character.
Tom’s character is himself, while Amanda, the overbearing mother, is a true reflection of her own mother and Laura’s is a direct homage to her sister Rose.for whom he felt a particular affection. It is also no coincidence that the year 1944 was the year in which it was written, since in 1943 her parents decided that Rose would undergo a lobotomy which would leave her disabled for life. This is the main source of inspiration, but also the repulsive and stimulating a story that shows a southern family in the 1930s ruled by the mother’s wishes. There’s the frustrated writer and the introspective disabled girl.
La Perla 29 puts the puzzle together, creating a work in essay form, leaving lighting to a minimum, itself a reflection of Southern Gothic. A success of this production is to present a silent character, who is the incarnation of a nod to the typewriter that his mother gave him in 1924. A fourth character is that of a suitor who is going to rush the end.
La Perla 29 sublimates the roles of Laura Conejero and Clara Moraleda, which constitutes the culmination of this production rocked between darkness and solitude.. It is likely that the film adaptation that best reveals the character of the trio of protagonists is the one made by Paul Newman in 1987, due to the strength of its performers: Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich and Karen Allen.
The title of this drama refers to the collection of small pieces of glass that Laura-Rose takes care of, as if they were a treasure, when in reality they are the true reflection of her own fragility and crudely exposed when it is the failed suitor who breaks one of them. After the premiere in New York, he received the Theater Critics Award. Tennessee Williams received it again, with the premiere of The night of the iguana in 1961.
Although closer to the writing of The Glass Menagerie We find there the two colossi of his authorship, both recognized by the Pulitzer: A Streetcar Named Desire (1948) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1954).
The adaptation produced by La Perla 29 The glass zoo shows ahe true vision of what happened in Tennessee Williams’ head as he shaped the drama, the author transforming himself into actor and narrator. The adaptation of the Catalans was good and successful, and the day after their walk at the Teatro Principal in Palma, the cultured spectators of the Levante were able to appreciate it from their seats at the Teatro Auditorio in Manacor.
