Widely considered Tennessee Williams’ most autobiographical drama, The Glass Menagerie takes place at the end of the Depression and focuses on the ways that adversity disrupts family dynamics. The action is drawn from the memories of narrator/protagonist Tom Wingfield, who looks back on his troubled relationship with his overbearing mother — a woman devoted to her children but blind to their needs and desires — and his handicapped, excruciatingly shy sister. TheatreUSF stages a fall production of the play that opens Thursday. Also on the USF cultural calendar is DanceUSF’s Fall Dance '08. Among featured selections are professor Gretchen Ward Warren’s "Cirque de Ballet," a program of circus-style thrills performed to music by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, and "Physical Therapy," a new piece by dance professor Lynne Wimmer inspired by her post-knee surgery treatment and set against excerpts from Bach’s Goldberg Variations. USF Dance faculty members Michael Foley and John Parks are also on the bill, the Nov. 6 "Day of Dance" program spotlights performances by students from Florida magnet schools and community colleges, and prior to the final Nov. 8 performance, renowned choreographer Donald McKayle heads a discussion as part of USF’s “Talk of the Arts” series. The Glass Menagerie, 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., Nov. 6-9, and 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., Nov. 12-16, $12 general/$8 students and children, and Fall Dance '08, 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. through Nov. 8, $15 general/$12 students, USF College of Visual and Performing Arts Theatres I & II, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa.
