On Wednesday, March 1, the whole high school drove to Charleston to see Tennessee Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie at the Dock Street Theatre, presented by Charleston Stage.

We arrived early enough to get in a visit to the Fireproof Building, which houses the South Carolina Historical Society Museum. There were all sorts of cool exhibits, including a home movie of people harvesting rice made in the 1930s. They were using 18th and 19th century techniques brought to the New World by enslaved people. Isaac really liked the flintlock exhibit and all the boys thought the display of different “sands” that were spewed out from the earth during the Charleston Earthquake of 1886 were very interesting. Mme Gates saw a quote by a South Carolina attorney general on a tee shirt that was pretty funny: “South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum” (James Louis Petigru).

We walked to the Dock Street Theatre and arrived in plenty of time for the play. Soon were were drawn into the “fragile world of the Wingfield family, where dreams and reality intertwine in a tender dance” (Charleston Stage). Many of the high school students had read the play with Dr. Simmons and everyone thought the production was really well done. The play was cut significantly but all the drama was still there. “The shortened ending suited just fine,” said Morgan.

Lunch was a quick stop at Chik-Fil-A. Gracin and his table were able to use the hot sauce he had bought at the Fireproof Building on their sandwiches (yum!). We managed to get back to Georgetown shortly after 3:00. Thank you, Dr. Simmons, for planning this great experience.