POwPAC's 'Glass Menagerie Is multi-faceted gem

Tennessee Williams' "the glass menagerie" has plenty of wit and sparkle on the outside, but also some-thing meaningful that radiates from the inside. For audiences who want to enjoy the classic, Thespians from Poway's Performing Arts Company definitely have saved the best "gem" for the end of their season.

Tickets are available for PowPAC's last play of the season, now through May 16. For students who have read "the glass menagerie" and want to see the characters come to life, special student matinees will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 1 and 8, with discounted ticket prices of $5 per student or $8 for an adult escorting five or more students.

The theater is located in the Lively Center at 13250 Poway Road. Regular performance hours are Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Tickets are $10 per person for an adult, or $8 for senior citizens and students and may be reserved by calling 679-8085.

"the glass menagerie" looks at the family relationship of a mother, son and daughter trapped in a world of their own. With PowPAC's intimate setting, Williams' words become personal, aiming for the senses as much as the mind.

Gwenda Measel convincingly uses a smooth Southern drawl to evoke the image of Amanda Wingfield, a faded Southern belle trapped more in yesterday than today, but with the motherly intention of wanting the best for her son and daughter. She may harp, but she does it with good intention.

"i married a telephone man who fell in love with long distance," Amanda wistfully reminds her children. In the next breath, she speaks of once having 17 gentlemen callers, thinking of crushed dreams.

Rob Tyler plays the dual role of the narrator and the son Tom, a warehouse worker who dreams of a future that will take him anywhere far away. As the family's sole provider, he's burdened with bringing in enough income to care for his mother and crippled sister Laura.

In the final scene, Tyler touches heartstrings in his remembrance of his sister's glass collection. Although he's left home and is traveling the world, he's reminded of Laura's glass menagerie. In this moment, he's not far away at all.

Kathryne Lynne Vaughan brings us into Laura's cloistered world. With an affinity for keeping her glass collection polished and her father's records twirling on the phonograph, Laura recoils from society.

Vaughan is demure, yet endearing as Laura.

Jonathan Sachs gets to play the dashing gentleman caller, invited for a homecooked meal by coworker Tom. The idea, cooked up by Amanda, is a ruse for Tom's friend to meet Laura.