March Issue
By Kelty Jones and Elizabeth Eyler / Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor
With just a few pieces of furniture, minimal props and four actors, Tennessee Williams’ semi-autobiographical play “The Glass Menagerie” hit the Harpeth Hall stage this past weekend. Set in 1937 in the Deep South, with the strain of the Great Depression looming in the background and the start of World War II becoming inevitable, the play follows dejected warehouse worker Tom Wingfield as he navigates family dynamics of hope, guilt and despair with his mother Amanda and his reclusive sister Laura. The only complication – the audience only sees the plot unfold how Tom, years later, remembers it happening.
Photo by Graci Hodges
Throughout the play, Amanda Wingfield, played by senior Shelby Tompkins, encourages her son to help Laura, played by senior Larkin Wilson, to secure a husband, though Laura prefers the reserved world of her glass animal collection. Montgomery Bell Academy juniors Buck Brown and Noah Wieck comprised the rest of the cast, as the narrator Tom and his sister’s prospective husband Jim O’Connor, respectively.
HH Theatre Director Lauren Bromfield, the director at the helm of this production, sees the value in the small cast as having been multifaceted.
“As a director, [my] job [was] to have an overall vision but to try to highlight as many people’s different talents as possible,” said Mrs. Bromfield. “We rarely have this time to work on very personal yet moment-to-moment acting work… and that has been an absolute joy.” From the student perspective as well, bringing to life deeply flawed characters in an honest, yet captivating, way has been a rewarding challenge that had required much reflection.
On his character O’Connor, who is a friend to Tom and a guest at the Wingfields’ tenement, Wieck said, “He gets very passionate when he talks about the
things he loves, which I do relate to. He is very goal-oriented, and I think in a similar way to that… but it’s been quite a task to portray him accurately.” Tompkins also has dived deeply into understanding her character as she tried to portray her complex identity as a mother and matriarch.
“Stepping into her shoes and seeing that from her perspective, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m Amanda now,’” said Tompkins. “No matter if your character looks like they’re in the wrong, you have to be able to empathize with them.”
To further the intimate environment set by the small cast size, the audience was scaled down in size as well, with seating being elevated to the stage itself. Only 50 people were able to see the show at one time to allow for an up-close view of the scenes, which meant that all four shows spanning from March 4–7, 2026 were sold out.
“It’s a small play with big ideas, and there’s a lot of power in the stillness of it,” said Mrs. Bromfield when asked about the stylistic choice.
However, the cast and crew also encountered an unintended stillness in the cancellation of multiple January school days and rehearsals due to the inclement weather.
Because the recent middle school musical took precedence over use of the main stage in the Frances Bond Davis Theatre upon the return to school, other HH spaces and even MBA’s Paschall Theater opened their doors to the cast and crew. This need to adapt, though, bore little on the actors’ ability to present a tight-knit dynamic.
Having worked together extensively in past performances, they were able to translate their trust and vulnerability with each other into their characters’ relationships.
“[Brown] and I had a very complex, nuanced relationship in ‘Macbeth,’ and that has played a part in our comfortability,” said Tompkins.
As for the audience, Mrs. Bromfield hopes that each member found a moment or character to resonate with.
“Even in the tragedy of the play, there is an element of beauty,” said Mrs. Bromfield.
“Theater is meant to be felt and it’s meant to be intimate… so I hope that people [came] to see it and that they [had] open minds and hearts to that kind of theater.”
For those who were unable to see the show, the next upcoming production between the schools is the performance of the Original Student One-Acts taking place April 23-25, 2026.
