High school kids reading "The Glass Menagerie," by Tennessee Williams, would never picture it like this: the lead character, Tom Wingfield, transformed into a homeless man. What would make anyone go out on such a limb? Try living in a conversion van for a while and see where your mind starts to wander.
Hans Fleichmann, an actor and director from Prospect Heights, didn't have many prospects back in 2011. Previously, he earned a scholarship to the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and played promising roles, but his luck ran out. He was living in his 1987 conversion van, parking it on the streets of Los Angeles while hoping for a big break. One night, he was shaken from sleep by someone ranting outside his van, screaming at a Hollywood agent. At wit's end, Fleichmann finally climbed out to confront the irate stranger, only to discover a homeless man talking to himself. It was a moment of revelation as the actor envisioned Tom Wingfield in a similar set of circumstances. Add the fact that Fleichmann was in rough shape at the time, his beard headed toward his toes and his hair gone wild, and his mindset wasn't too far off from the homeless man on the street.
Fleichmann had played the lead role from the Williams play while studying at the Harper Community College. According to the actor, he was horrible. However, as his circumstances changed with some unfortunate twists and turns in life, his new take on the classic part proved to be an inspiration. In the middle of the night, his imagination sparked by his creative vision, the overtired and overstimulated actor called Richard Cotovsky, a director from Chicago who is the stuff that legends are made of. While most people probably would've hung up the phone, Cotovsky grabbed hold of Fleichmann's enthusiasm and ran with it. The actor came up with enough money for someone to keep an eye on his van, flew to Chicago, and production began.
The result: a smash at the box office. In 2012, the play received glowing reviews as its run began at the Mary-Arrchie Theater. Currently, it is on the way to the Theater Wit and will continue through the month of June. Audiences are absolutely captivated by a wild, ragged Wingfield, a homeless man who is entangled with a dysfunctional family, struck by alcoholism and mental problems. To think that it all began for Fleichmann with a sleepness night in a van on the street, one step away from joining the homeless man outside his door.