Theater Review - Our Town

Our Town

Written by Thornton Wilder

Directed by Jewel Walker

Where:  Thompson Theater at the Roselle Center for the Arts

(University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware)

Nothing pleases me more than to be able to say that the University of Delaware's Resident Ensemble Players (REP)  are back in full form with their production of Our Town which is ending its short run this upcoming Sunday.  The first two productions of this ten-show season -- The Homecoming and The Importance of Being Earnest -- didn't exactly bowl me over with a chief problem being that I could see a definite gap in performance levels between the students of the PTTP (Professional Theater Training Program) and the professional actors of the REP.  Fortunately, in Our Town any previous "talent differentials" are pushed aside and both troupes stepped up their game, presenting a lovely tale of life and death in small town America at the turn of the 20th century.

Some of you may recall my Book-a-Week Quest last year and Our Town was part of that quest.  Needless to say, I didn't care for it (the review is here).  While I commented that it may simply not read well on paper, I found it to be very simplistic...too much so.  I quite honestly didn't understand why it was so revered.

Well, this is definitely a play that gains a great deal from watching rather than reading (as is the case with most plays, of course).  Taking place on a barren stage with only two tables and several chairs, director Jewel Walker (who also takes on the role of the Stage Manager) is able to create the whole town of Grover's Corner, New Hampshire out of very little...and the audience wholeheartedly believes that it is a real town rather than just a dark stage.   Right from the opening lines, there's a soothing tone to Walker's Stage Manager.  He's wise beyond his years and it offers somewhat of a calming effect to the whole affair.

The play revolves around two families -- the Webb family and their daughter Emily and the Gibbs family and their son George.  Living next to each other for years, Emily and George develop a friendship that gradually turns into love which unfortunately leads to tragedy (and each of the three acts mirrors those three stages).  With these young characters at the forefront of the play, I was a tad worried that the REP actors that I've come to know and love were going to be pushed to the sidelines.  However, I was completely won over by the PTTP actors in this production with the lovely and charming Sara J. Griffin's portrayal of Emily amd the engaging Ben Charles's role as the doe-eyed innocent George taking center stage and showcasing their talent.  These two single-handedly changed my mindset on the REP's season and made me feel a tiny bit guilty for resenting the fact that the PTTP students were infringing on the REP actors' stage.  [What can I say...I missed seeing the talented REP troupe take center stage.]  Really and truly, I greatly enjoyed the performances of Griffin and Charles who manage to gracefully and believably move from the innocence of childhood to the reality of adulthood.  I very much look forward to seeing their next roles this upcoming season.

Additionally, from the PTTP side of things, kudos to Jasmine Bracey as Emily's mother who certainly held her own in scenes with my favorite REP actress Kathleen Pirkl Tague (oh, how I missed you the first two productions this season!).  The acting across the board was really top notch, but I'd also like to point out a nice turn from "guest actor" John Rensenhouse, a graduate of the PTTP in 1981, who managed to create quite a few humorous scenes out of his role as Emily's father.

While it's not my favorite thing I've seen from the REP (last year's productions of I Am My Own Wife, Death of a Salesman, and She Stoops to Conquer are going to be tough to beat), Our Town is certainly the best thing I've seen this season from the company.  Seeing the play performed live, the simplicity of the play as written slipped away a bit, revealing a much deeper underside about life, death, love, and the importance of living and cherishing even the most mundane of moments (at least that's what it meant to me in this totally non-in-depth analysis...I could be totally out in left field, but I guess that's what makes theater so interesting).

You've only got two more chances to see this (Saturday and Sunday at 2pm), but it's well worth checking out if you're able.