In Spain, there was revolution. Here, there was shouting and illusion.
-Tom Wingfield
You will not find a better production of The Glass Menagerie than the one I saw on Sunday at Bag&Baggage in Hillsboro, just outside of Portland. I’m not exaggerating: it was a truly touching rendition of the classic American play that struck close to home in 2025.
Bag&Baggage Productions consistently puts out excellent, professional theatre productions. You can tell the company truly cares about their craft and building community through storytelling. They are also home to the Native Theatre Project, which last year produced the original work Diné Nishłį (I am a Sacred Being) and this year will produce Antíkoni by Beth Piatote, a reimagining of Sophocles’ Antigone. This season, after leadership changes, the company is working toward a theme of “Roots & Renewals,” aiming “to recognize the roots and history of the company… to carry that spirit forward as we strengthen existing bonds, renew old connections and grow new relationships.”
When I walked in, I was already impressed with the simplistic setup: a black box transformed into a thrust stage, with a brick outline lining the ceiling, separating the living room and kitchen. Kyra Sanford’s set felt intimate and appropriate for the story about to be told. Props kept with this simple design and were also so intricate: Karen Wingard’s impressive fading newspaper full of Latin gibberish felt right at home with this memory play, as well as the Wingfield father being blurred out in the picture above Laura’s menagerie.
Right away, we were swept into the Wingfield family, and what a family was created in this production. Director Nik Whitcomb excellently created an atmosphere of a family who both loves and despises each other, who wants the best and also can’t stand to be around each other. The Wingfields here truly breathed and felt like a real family.
Taya Dixon gave Laura an agency that is rarely, if ever, seen in Menagerie productions. She was not just a helpless innocent but a moving force all on her own, acting as both mediator between her brother and mother, as well as emotional caretaker to Amanda. Dixon showed us a multi-faceted character who wants her innocence but seems to know it’s always out of reach. She also depicted chronic pain for Laura, which I felt despite Laura’s disability has rarely been properly showed onstage.
Samuel Scott Campbell as Tom was a natural fit: Campbell knew when to switch in his banter with other characters–and within his monologues–between the humor of the situation and the serious nature of the discussion. He showed us a Tom who doesn’t hate Amanda, a Tom who is hurt by the things Amanda says and does to both him and his sister, a Tom who wants escape but also fears it. I loved the subtle choices of Tom being queer-coded; this added another layer of richness to Campbell’s performance. Also, Campbell and Dixon’s comedic timing in Act I was spot-on; they have a natural sibling dynamic every time they’re onstage.
Photo by Casey Campbell Photography
Kymberli Colbourne as Amanda… My goodness. She was breathtaking and swept the audience up in her rants and tirades while at the same time making us feel sorry for her. Colbourne’s master of manipulative tactics never felt forced, which was what made her so convincing. One of my favorite scenes of the play was Amanda and Tom on the fire escape, bonding for a moment before they once again break. This was the most honest and vulnerable Amanda; major props to Colbourne.
Why can’t you and your brother be normal people?!
-Amanda Wingfield
Act II gave us even more intricate details about the Wingfields prior to the gentleman caller’s arrival. There was a brilliant costuming detail with Amanda’s old dress, where it won’t zip up all the way, and Laura ends up covering her mother’s back with her own shawl. This subtlety showed us everything we need to know about Amanda being stuck in the past, Laura acting once again as caretaker to her mother, and the passage of time from Amanda’s glory days.
So, I loved Jim. Nick Medina shone as the iconic gentleman caller, making him feel relatable and real as a guest in a friend’s home. Campbell and Medina’s banter is cheeky, a bit flirty, and a great deal of fun: you can tell the care put into their relationship-building as Tom and Jim. Medina’s charming line delivery to the Wingfields gave us a stark contrast to later in the scene after he kisses Laura, where we see the cracks begin to form in his exterior. Dixon and Medina give a level of playfulness between Laura and Jim, a true chemistry that was a nice contrast to Laura in Act I. I will never forget Dixon’s delivery of Laura’s line “A souvenir” after the glass unicorn’s horn broke off and she gave it to Jim. It will haunt me because of its honest delivery.
Lights and sound worked in tandem to replicate the environment of a hazy memory. Ash’s sound design was particularly impressive, given that many of the background songs were composed by her in full: the songs truly sounded straight out of the 1950s, where the play was reset.
Between the deliberate direction, intricate design choices, and the actors’ commitment, Bag&Baggage’s 2025 production of The Glass Menagerie was one that playwright Tennessee Williams would be proud of if he were here to see it. I think he too would feel it rings as true to today as to when it was first produced in 1944, bringing life to coming to terms with change and how perspective changes over time.
Photo by Casey Campbell Photography
Thank you Bag&Baggage for such an excellent production! I look forward to seeing many more. Everyone in the greater Portland area should have this theatre on their radar and support them through their continued intentional storytelling in the Pacific Northwest. Arts organizations like Bag&Baggage need our support now more than ever.
Want me to review a show in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest? Email somescriptslitmag@gmail.com with a press comp invitation, and I will happily come see your show and write a review!
Alyssa Cokinis is a writer and theatre artist from Iowa, currently living in the Pacific Northwest. She is also the founder and editor of some scripts.
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