John Neumeier

Harris Theater 

Hamburg Ballet

Tennessee Williams called his drama a “Memory Play”. With The Glass Menagerie, he laid the foundation for his success and fame as one of the most important authors of the 20th century. John Neumeier applied this written masterpiece to the ballet stage, in a full length ballet with music by the American composers Charles Ives, Philip Glass and Ned Rorem.
In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams deals with issues that he struggled with throughout his life: family and the decline of the middle class. In his interpretation, John Neumeier stresses the biographical elements of the play, which subtly mold his piece. In many ways, he feels connected with Tennessee Williams; different levels of the plot flow into each other and happen simultaneously. Emotions and inner conflicts become visible and tangible. In John Neumeiers ballet, the dancers give feelings a physical shape. The Glass Menagerie is full of suggestions of the past, longings of the present and possibilities of the future.

John Neumeier's The Glass Menagerie