Co-produced by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Mirvish Productions in Toronto, a revival of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie begins its run in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre on March 6.

Real life mother and son, Shirley Douglas and Keifer Sutherland appear on stage together for the first time as Amanda and Tom Wingfield, with Kathryn Greenwood as Laura and David Storch as Jim O'Connor.

The Glass Menagerie is directed by Neil Munro with set design by Cameron Porteous. Costumes are by Francois Barbeau, lighting design by Kevin Lamotte. Assistant director is Dennis Garnhum.

Dubbed by the author "a play of memory," Menagerie tells of faded Southern belle Amanda, making life miserable for grown children Tom and Laura. Painfully shy and handicapped, Laura is as fragile as the glass animals in her collection. Tom, trapped in a dead-end job, struggles to escape the suffocating bonds of his family. Into their life, momentarily, comes a gentleman caller (Jim), a potential romantic interest for Laura. From biographical and autobiographical accounts, the family in the play is based on Williams' own, and Laura's dilemma based on that of Williams' sister, Rose.

Other Williams plays include The Night Of The Iguana, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Rose Tattoo, Suddenly Last Summer and Summer And Smoke. After its run in Ottawa, the play moves on to the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, opening there on March 26 and running until May 3.

Tickets for the Ottawa production call (613) 755-1111. Tickets for the Toronto production call 800 461-3333.

-- By Ray Ellicock
Theatre News Canada and David Lefkowitz