Actors are, from left, Troy Monachelli, Barbara McMinis and Jillian Weise. The play opens tonight. TROY ESPE Entertainment Editor Martin Ensemble Theatre presents Tennessee Williams' most autobiographical play The Glass Menagerie . Like Williams' childhood, the play takes place in St. Louis during the Great Depression. Father abandons the family.
Mother is left to raise two children.
It's about the original dysfunctional family. It's all about the dynamics of the family. The main character, Tom Wingfield, closely resembles Williams. He is an aspiring artist but is stuck working in a shoe factory. He displays many of his absent father's characteristics - to the dismay of his mother.