Nothing beats the look on the faces of a theater cast when they realize they're getting a standing ovation. It's a combination of satisfaction in their own efforts, but also sincere gratitude to the audience for appreciating what they have just witnessed.

This was the case last night as I sat in the audience at The Glass Menagerie. Jessica Lange, Christian Slater, Sarah Paulson (currently starring in Deadwood) and Josh Lucas (A Beautiful Mind) have come together in a wonderful revival of the Tennessee Williams classic. A sweet, and very sad story of a depression-era family trying to cope with it's own limitations.

I'm sure you already know the story, and if you don't, you can find dozens of sites that will give you a synopsis, so I'll sum it up like this:

Jessica Lange = Mother = Lifelong Regret
Christian Slater = Son = Reluctant Stability
Sarah Paulson = Sister = Fragile Innocence
Josh Lucas = Gentleman Caller = False Hope

Tennessee Williams must have been seriously tortured inside, to bring such emotion to his stories. He was creating dysfunctional families before the phrase was coined. And personally, being a graduate of dysfunctional family university, I can tell you this cast really pulls it off. I strongly recommend this one. Here's to a long, successful run!