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- Proverbs 3:5-6
April 2024
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Arizona Theatre Company Reimagines Glass Menagerie in 2023
By Claire Natale - Friday Dec 09, 2022
Arizona Theatre Company is excited to announce it will celebrate the start of the new year with one of the most prolific plays of all time, The Glass Menagerie, with support from Corporate Production Sponsor UnitedHealthcare. The iconic piece, written by Tennessee Williams, is a poetic and raw portrayal of a family on the brink of change that explores the complex web of love, longing, loyalty, and constraints that bind us together. This reimagined classic, directed by ATC’s Associate Artistic Director Chanel Bragg, will run Feb. 16 through March 5 in Phoenix.

“I want my ATC directorial debut to be a love letter to my state theater, a nationally recognized member of the League of Resident Theatres that prides itself on producing and presenting world-class productions which can be accessed in our own backyard. As a proud Arizonan, my vision of this classic is rich with representation across the state.” Bragg said. “In my reimagining of this timeless work, I will be examining the play’s central theme exploring selective memory as a coping mechanism. Audience members will be introduced to a fifth character of our play, personified using music. And finally, my casting choices are meant to interrogate ‘the nuclear family’ construct, modernizing how families look today.”

Bragg has been highlighted in PHOENIX Magazine's “Great 48” (2022), American Theatre Magazine’s “10 Rising Black Women to Watch in the American Theatre” (2022), and is a recipient of the Arizona Capitol Times award for “Leader of the Year” in Arts & Culture (2021).

She is ecstatic to direct her first Arizona Theatre Company production post guest directing at St. Louis Repertory Theatre, which garnered her an “A-List Editor’s Choice Award” in 2022 from St. Louis Magazine. New works Bragg has directed include a workshop of Reggie Hoops written by Pulitzer finalist Kris Diaz in New York City, Loz Feliz written by Pulitzer nominee Christopher Oscar Peña and featured at UC Santa Barbara, and locally, she was a featured director in The Phoenix Theatre Company’s annual New Works Festival for both Enferma and Click Bait. Her other directing credits include Stick Fly, The Wolves, The Piano Lesson, For Colored Girls, Lizzie, Hair, and a bilingual adaptation of The Last Five Years. Bragg is most proud of her producorial and directing work on The Alexander Project, a touring Hamilton revue in conjunction with Live Nation that played to sold-out performances at local performance venues such as the Van Buren, Crescent Ballroom, and The Rialto in Tucson. Additionally, she has performed in ATC patron favorites as Alma Hix in The Music Man (2018), Frenchie in Cabaret (2019), and Vera in Justice (2022).

Outside of her notable acting and directing accolades, she has also co-founded two initiatives including The Soul of Broadway performance troupe and The United Colours of Arizona Theatre, with an emphasis to inspire diversity, equity, and true inclusion within the state’s local arts community.

Critics and experts refer to The Glass Menagerie as the closest piece of work to an autobiography that Williams made, as he drew from the troubled relationship he had with his family for inspiration. Williams was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose other impactful works include A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Many of Williams' plays have been adapted to films starring screen greats like Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor.

Performances will be held at the Herberger Theater Center (222 E. Monroe St.) in Phoenix.

Tickets are on sale now, and prices begin at $25. Tickets can be purchased at atc.org or 1-833-ATC-SEAT.

About Arizona Theatre Company
Arizona Theatre Company’s (ATC) performances bring people together to experience essential stories, from reimagined classics to contemporary plays, original works, and innovative musicals fostering continued conversation beyond the theatre walls. Founded in 1966 and celebrating its 55th season, ATC is led by Executive Director Geri Wright and incoming Kasser Family Artistic Director Matt August. ATC operates in two major cities and is the preeminent professional theatre in Arizona, recognized as the official State theatre.
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