Lost to the Audience

"The coat is one of AMANDA'S, inaccurately madeover, the sleeves too short for LAURA."
The Glass Menagerie, pg. 1250

Obviously, stage directions in this play seem to be of great importance. Most of the explanations that Tennessee Williams provided seemed important to the reader. However, it seems that many of them, such as the one above, would be lost when the play was actually performed onstage. How in the world is the audience supposed to know that the coat was Amanda's? Or that Laura's new dress was designed by memory? I don't understand how those things would be conveyed, unless it was actually spoken aloud. It was refreshing, however, to finally read something in which the symbols were actually explained, instead of having to guess at them (although I have been getting better!). More importantly than the signals being lost, to me, is the question of the importance of many of the details that Williams provides. In some ways, I thought he was just being overbearing to the performers. Granted, the director of this play can make changes that fit his or her fancy. I simply found it annoying that Williams didn't leave a lot of room for creativity, when many of the things he demanded didn't seem overly important. Oh, well!