Joe Mantello Will Return to Acting in Revival of The Glass Menagerie | Playbill

News Joe Mantello Will Return to Acting in Revival of The Glass Menagerie The Tony-winning director will star opposite Sally Field in the Tennessee Williams classic.
Joe Mantello Dave Krysl
It was an especially busy season for Tony-winning director Joe Mantello, who helmed the Broadway premiere of An Act of God, starring multiple Emmy winner Jim Parsons; the critically acclaimed The Humans, which earned six Tony nominations, including a Best Direction of a Play nod for Mantello; and the Broadway revival of Blackbird, which received three Tony nominations, two for its Hollywood co-stars and one for Best Revival of a Play.

Reached by phone May 3, Mantello told Playbill.com, “It was thrilling to have two shows nominated, and it’s an exciting feeling, and it’s also complicated because certain people get singled out and others who made equally essential contributions don’t. But what’s nice with both shows is that [both actors in Blackbird] and the show were acknowledged this morning and that the company of The Humans received that special Best Ensemble Award from the Drama Desk, so to me, there’s no higher compliment to a director than when all of the actors are acknowledged in some way.”

Considering his busy year, it's not too surprising that the Tony-winning director of Assassins and Take Me Out, said he will not be “directing for a while… I think I'm just going to take some time off.” That said, the in-demand artist, whose acting credits include a Tony-nominated performance in Angels in America and a Drama Desk-winning turn in The Normal Heart (for Outstanding Ensemble), does have plans to return to the other side of the footlights.

“It’s looking like I will be doing The Glass Menagerie with [director] Sam Gold and Sally Field, produced by Scott Rudin, so I’m nervous at the prospect of it, but I’m also exhilarated to be working again with such great artists.” Rehearsals, Mantello said, will likely begin after the first of the year.

Field previously played the role of Southern matriarch Amanda Wingfield in 2004 for the Kennedy Center, where she was directed by Gregory Mosher. She made her Broadway debut in the replacement cast of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? and won Academy Awards for her performances in Norma Rae and Places in the Heart.

The most recent Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Glass Menagerie featured Cherry Jones and Zachary Quinto and was nominated for seven 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play. Lighting designer Natasha Katz won a Tony for that production, which was directed by John Tiffany.

No official announcement about a Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie has been made.

 
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