What are the important components of The Glass Menagerie's setting? How could they be updated to the present time?

Components of the play's setting that are important to the drama are:

• the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Wingfields' apartment


• the urban setting


• the fire escape

The time aspect of the setting could be updated; though Williams set the play in 1937, any time in the twentieth or twenty-first century would work equally well.  The fact that the family is headed by a single, working mother who worries about her daughter's limited prospects for the future...

Components of the play's setting that are important to the drama are:

• the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Wingfields' apartment


• the urban setting


• the fire escape

The time aspect of the setting could be updated; though Williams set the play in 1937, any time in the twentieth or twenty-first century would work equally well.  The fact that the family is headed by a single, working mother who worries about her daughter's limited prospects for the future and the role she wants her son to play in it is integral to the play's themes. The dramatic situation is as plausible today as it was in 1937, when the play is set. Fathers who desert their families are an unfortunately timeless phenomenon. 

The geographic setting could be any medium or large-sized city with densely populated apartment buildings.  Williams chose St. Louis, but the Midwestern setting is not vital to the play's action.  The apartment itself needs to be claustrophobic to convey the lack of privacy for the three adults living in close proximity to one another.  The setting requires proximity to movie theaters and bars, the places where Tom retreats from his mother's demands and expectations. The building's fire escape, which serves as a symbol for Tom's longing to escape a situation that, metaphorically speaking, "threatens his life," is an important part of the setting.

That said, to bring the play completely up to date, Amanda and Tom Wingfield could both be telecommuters who work from home.  Their 24/7 physical closeness could ratchet up the play's tensions.  Laura could drop out of an online course.  The gentleman caller could emerge from an online dating site.  And Tom's escapes through alcohol and movies could be portrayed through furtive drinking at home and an immersion in streaming video.