What Was Lost

In What Was Lost, beloved stage actress Laurette Taylor returns to the stage after a six-year hiatus. BroadwayWorld's Kristen Morale called the play "the most riveting" she had ever seen. For the first time in over a decade, she takes to the stage sober. Chronicling her process from the first rehearsal of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie through her legendary first performance as...
In What Was Lost, beloved stage actress Laurette Taylor returns to the stage after a six-year hiatus. BroadwayWorld's Kristen Morale called the play "the most riveting" she had ever seen. For the first time in over a decade, she takes to the stage sober. Chronicling her process from the first rehearsal of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie through her legendary first performance as Amanda Wingfield, What Was Lost is a piercing look at the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive.

"In What Was Lost, McCasland effectively depicts the plunge into the unknown—with its terrors and exhilarations—that is a production of a new play. At times, he evokes Williams’ “memory play” techniques as the characters’ art and lives intertwine." - DiscDish
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What Was Lost

Recommended by

  • Alice Josephs:
    26 May. 2021
    Taking a Tennessee Williams’ quote as its title, this backstage drama charts the return to the theatre of a veteran actress in what would eventually be a twilight career triumph. Delicately structured between monologue and ensemble playing, it takes us into the inner life of a fragile star and the making of an American classic. McCasland encapsulates the uncertainties, tension and dynamics of the rehearsal process where both actress and playwright eventually merge with their own creation.
  • David Hansen:
    28 Apr. 2021
    McCasland has created a creation myth, about the original production of "The Glass Menagerie", centered on its ageing star, Laurette Taylor, who originated the role of Amanda Wingfield. It is a story of recovery, poetic in its own fashion, as Taylor presents at AA meetings, her stories of personal struggle rival that of Tom, the narrator of the play she is starring in. Williams plays his part as an alcoholic philosopher who inspired his mother figure into sobriety, for her own sake, but really for his, you know? It's fascinating, hopeful, and I highly recommend it.

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Beautiful Soup Theater
    ,
    2014

Production History

  • Fringe
    ,
    Beautiful Soup Theater
    ,
    2015