Spectacle

Covergirl, Maybelline, and Clinique are just a few of the most famous makeup brands. Everyone that uses makeup knows that it is very costly. So many people ask, “Why does someone use makeup if it costs so much?” Most of the time makeup users would answer with “It adds to my confidence” or “It makes me feel more beautiful.” Makeup is just like the spectacle in theater. Spectacle is the physical things in a play that have an affect on how the showing is portrayed. In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee William, the spectacle change the play drastically. For example, the clothing the actors wear and the lighting on stage adds to the tone and theme of realism in the play.

March 31st, 1945, was the day The Glass Menagerie premiered. In the
In The Glass Menagerie lighting plays a much bigger role of the play. The play is all a memory, which the audience might think that would be hard to understand. The lighting helps the audience understand what is actually happening. To begin, the lights on stage are dimmer than a usual play has the lights shown on stage. This reminds the audience the play is a memory. The characters all talk about memories at some point. Amanda talks about when she had seventeen gentlemen callers at once. Laura remembers when Jim O’Connor called her “Blue Roses” in high school. Tom, however, is trapped in the memory of Amanda and Laura. He feels as if he can not move on with his life before he lets the ladies out of only a memory. When these scenes are going on the lighting gets even dimmer. When Tom helps Laura out of memory suddenly the lights get brighter. This is when Jim O’Connor comes over to meet Laura. She is actually living her life and looking forward on life, instead of looking back. When Jim starts talking about his life suddenly it gets darker again. This is because Laura knows what just happened is only a memory. Being trapped in a memory, is the reoccurring theme of the play. However, the lighting makes the theme seem like real life. When we think about a memory, it might be more vague and darker than the present time. So the lighting on the stage
The clothes help the audience understand when the play is taking place. The audience might also understand the play is taking place in the 1940’s because of the words used in the play. Lighting makes the play feel like real life. Lights are usually used in a very basic way, however The Glass Menagerie uses the lights in a very unique way. Being trapped in a memory is the theme of the play, so whenever a memory is happening the lights become dimmer. This helps us related to our own lives, as we might be thinking of a dark and vague memory. Spectacle in a play is much like makeup on a lady. It adds to the confidence of the play and also makes it much more