The famous American melodrama, “The Glass Menagerie,” will finally make its debut at the Kjer Theatre on Oct. 8. The play, set in 1930s St. Louis, is structured around the intensely poignant memories of the duel narrator and character, Tom. Centered on disrupted family dynamics as a result of his father’s abandonment, the story follows the interactions between mother Amanda and her two adult children, Tom and Laura.

Amanda, coming from a conventional southern family, attempts to bestow upon her children traditional virtues of marriage and career motivation in hope of inspiring successful futures. The devastatingly shy Laura reverts deeper into introversion, desperately clinging to her father’s glass menageries; emblems of past disappointments and future desires. Tom, an aspiring writer, attempts to quench his thirst for adventure by escaping his warehouse job at the movies, to the great disappointment of Amanda. Throughout the play, that characters struggle with the plights of reality and the complexities of human relationships.

Twenty-five-year director Richard Nimke expressed enthusiasm about including Tennessee Williams’ pivotal work in the fall theatre program. The play will be one of five diverse main stage productions.

“I have always loved Tennessee Williams, but never had a chance to direct one of his plays. It is clearly one of the greatest American classics,” Nimke said. “It’s a memory play with the glass menagerie symbolic of all three characters’ feelings of being different. Amanda is a southern gentile. Laura is shy and fragile. Tom lives in a dream world wanting adventure.”

Along with motifs surrounding memory and escapism, Nimke went on to suggest that regret is also a resonating theme. Tom grows to regret his ultimate decisions which strongly affect delicate relations with his mother and sister. This is largely a play of relationship tension and strained family dynamics, where love not only binds the family together, but tears them apart. During the 1930s, Amanda knew plans needed to be made to ensure the success and stability of her children. Unfortunately, emotion and generational differences divide the family, leading to insurmountable internal and external conflicts driving the plot.

There is a particularly moving scene between Tom, played by senior Eddie Neve, and Amanda, played by junior Charlene Lucht, following an emotionally charged argument between the two characters.

Amanda and Tom emerge at the breakfast table the following morning, and Amanda, with a sobering tone declares, “In these trying times, all we have to cling to is each other.”

Amanda, still grief stricken from the abandonment of her husband, desperately tries to hang on to her children who she feels slipping away like sand through her fingers.

With four characters in total, the play is wonderfully casted with individuals giving passionate performances capable of entrancing the audience with precision and ease. Charlene Lucht flawlessly embodies the heart and soul of a twentieth century southern mother attempting to forge a path for herself and her children. Neve accurately captures the angst, disillusionment and the fervent desire to escape. But then there’s Siri Brobst who, with poise and sincerity, gives an inspiring performance about a girl and her painful struggle with shyness. Her ability to convey a message through non-verbal cues and expressions in telling Laura’s story is truly an incredible gift.

“I definitely relate to Laura; a little of the shyness we have in common,” Brobst said. “Laura is a very anxious, shy girl who lives in her own world, which stops her from allowing others to see her true self. I’ve never been overly nervous performing on stage though. There’s always a lot of energy to draw from.”

The equally talented Neve expressed his fondness for theatre and performing powerful and thought-provoking parts.

“All the productions I’ve been in have opened up my mind to different situations,” said Neve. “They have allowed me to keep an open mind. Every show has amazing and hilarious moments. The productions are always so much fun to be apart of.”

The characters are undeniably relatable as the themes transcend time and culture. For those who are appreciative of meaningful literature, Tennessee Williams’ play is extremely satisfying and rewarding.

“The Glass Menagerie” opens at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 and runs on select nights through Oct. 17 in Kjer Theatre.