FRAGILE 'GLASS' MOVING PLAY TOUCHES ACTORS, HOPES TO ALSO REACH AUDIENCE.

Byline: Suzie St. John Correspondent

When asked to play the role of Amanda Wingfield in the Tennessee Williams' classic ``The Glass Menagerie,'' Susan Sullivan's first response was ``I don't do those Southern women roles,'' but as soon as she read the play she was hooked. ``I had such a deep, personal connection to Amanda. She's tough and strong and practical,'' said the two-time Emmy nominee who stars as Kitty, Greg's snobbish mom, on the ABC hit television show ``Dharma & Greg.''

Amanda, in Williams' play (which opens today at the Pasadena Playhouse), portrays a Southern Belle who married below her station only to have her husband run out on her. She now struggles to keep her family together, living with her two grown children - Tom (Raphael Sbarge), who attempts to escape Amanda's aggressive mothering through alcohol and movies, and Laura (Rachel Robinson), who creates illusions of her own as she tries to hide from a crippling defect that intensifies her mother's desire to see her get married. This is personified in the role of Jim O'Connor, the gentleman caller (Tony Crane).

Sullivan said she found herself identifying with some traits in Amanda's character - traits that also can be used to describe Kitty.

``They're both controlling - and that's a powerful part of me and it's not the most attractive part either,'' Sullivan explained. ``It's unusual to find character elements within yourself.

``The other thing about both women is that they both really love their family. With Kitty, she loves her husband and her son and even loves Dharma; with Amanda, the most negative thing about her is her narcissism and how she views her children as an extension of herself.''

The classic American play, which first premiered to rave reviews in Chicago on Dec. 26, 1944, is said to closely resemble the playwright's own life, starting with naming the narrator and protagonist after himself (his given name was Thomas Lanier Williams, but he later took on the name ``Tennessee''). Also the character of Amanda has a disappointing marriage, much like his own mother, who was married to a traveling salesman. The character of Laura, who permanently suffers from a childhood illness, can be likened to his sister, Rose, who suffered from acute schizophrenia.

A year before the premiere, which launched Williams' highly successful career, his family gave Rose's doctors permission to perform a bilateral prefrontal lobotomy on her. This decision is said to have haunted Williams for the rest of his life.

``He was an incredible workaholic and an incredible talent,'' the play's director, Andrew J. Robinson, said of Williams. `` `Glass Menagerie' is a memory play that takes you back to another time; it evokes a lot of nostalgia and sentimentality.''

This is Robinson's first time directing one of Williams' plays, but it's one he has long had his eye on.

``I'm probably one of the few people who has never seen a production of 'The Glass Menagerie,' but I read it years ago and it was always a play I wanted to come back to,'' said Robinson, whose directing credits include ``Waiting for Godot,'' ``Endgame,'' ``Dangerous Corner,'' ``The Homecoming'' and ``Yield of the Long Bond.''

This production has a family element in it, too, with the role of Laura being played by Robinson's daughter, Rachel.

``Being father and daughter isn't a problem because we know what our roles are and it's easy to keep those boundaries,'' says Robinson about working with Rachel. ``It helps that we have worked together on past productions.''

Robinson said one of the main reasons why he has always had such a strong interest in this play is that he found himself identifying with Tom's character.

``The thrust of the story is a young man's desire for liberation from a deeply disturbed family situation. His liberation comes at a great price because he must leave his family,'' Robinson explained. ``At some point, we all have to move away from our family to gain our own identity.''

The fact that this is one of the most famous plays in American history and one that has been produced countless times over the past 55 years was not daunting for either Robinson or Sullivan.

``The only thing you really can do with a classic is to get different people. Two different casts will never give the same performance. The problem with a classic is that everybody already has an opinion about it. I told the cast that part of the audience is going to take the production on face value and another part will look at it through screened eyes,'' Robinson explained. ``But I think it's going to be a very moving production, knock on wood.''

``It's my dream role and I didn't even know it,'' said Sullivan, who is also known for her role as Maggie on ``Falcon Crest.'' ``If you had asked me my dream before playing Amanda, I probably would have said something entirely different, but right now this is it.''

By the way, it's interesting to note that a play centering on the dynamics of a family begins performances on Mother's Day and ends on Father's Day.

The facts

--The show: ``The Glass Menagerie.''

--The stars: Susan Sullivan, Raphael Sbarge, Tony Crane, Rachel Robinson.

--Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino.

--When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. There will be an additional 5 p.m. show today.

--Tickets: From $15 to $42.50 and can be purchased at the Pasadena Playhouse customer service center, open from 10 a.m. to curtain on performance days, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays. Tickets are also available through Telecharge, [phone].

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Photo:

Cast members Rachel Robinson, right, Raphael Sbarge and Susan Sullivan co-star in ``The Glass Menagerie,'' which premieres today at the Pasadena Playhouse.