How often does a theatergoer get the opportunity to see what is frequently called one of the greatest plays ever written? Our Town written by Thornton Wilder and playing at Arvada Arts Center is a welcome opportunity to do so.
Written in 1938 and receiving the Pulitzer Prize for drama, Our Town transports the audience to another place and time. Yet throughout the play, one comes to realize that Wilder has captured not only a distant place and time but perhaps one that hits closer to home today with universal questions surrounding the meaning of life, love and death.
Our Town is divided into three acts and performed on a bare stage with sparse scenery (mostly chairs and tables) and minimal lighting effects. We are introduced to the town and its inhabitants by the Stage Manager (Kate Gleason). The play focuses primarily on the lives of two families: Dr. and Mrs. Webb, parents of George and Rebecca, and Mr. and Mrs. Webb, the parents of Emily and Wally. It is through their eyes that we experience universal questions about life being set forth by Wilder. The town is populated with other characters including Joe Crowell, the paperboy, Howie Newsome, the milkman and Simon Stimson, the choir director at the local Congregational Church. Stimson isn’t fooling anyone with his drinking problem; however, the townspeople often overlook it. Each character provides a unique vehicle for Wilder to examine further the human condition.
A brief synopsis highlights that each of the three acts focuses on different parts of humanity. Starting with Act One, we are introduced to the seemingly simple life the characters lead. They work, they go to school, they sing in the church choir, and they go home to bed. Act One also introduces young love into the equation, with the budding relationship between Emily and George. Act Two leads us down the aisle with the marriage of Emily and George, while Act Three deposits us in the town cemetery to fully ruminate on the idea that life is short and death always inevitable.
As Stage Manager, Gleason was warm and welcoming, able to capture the essence of being a neutral presence while relating comfortably with the audience.
The underlying strength of the production was solidified by the four actors playing Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs (Lavour Addison and Emily Van Fleet) and Mr. and Mrs. Webb (Matt Zambrano and Diana Dresser). Each actor embodied their character with quiet strength and fortitude. As Simon Stimson, Josh Robinson was sufficiently inebriated and sometimes slightly menacing. Special mention is given to Teej Morgan-Arzola (George) and Claylish Coldiron (Emily). They both brought to life their journey of young love from its initial moments, into marriage and beyond. Tresha Farris (on understudy duty at this performance), Frank Oden, Samantha Piel and Archer Rosenkrantz rounded out the cast. All had fully developed characters and breathed beautiful life into the world of Grover’s Corners.
As directed by Geoffrey Kent, the production was performed in the round, making for an intimate setting. The action of the play spilled into the aisles and seating areas, creatinga sense of inclusivity between the performers and the audience. Kent cleverly used the actors for man-made sound effects ranging from snapping beans to playing catch baseball. Overall, the direction was solid and was true to what is believed to be Wilder’s metatheatrical vision for his play.
Given the spartan setting and little use of properties, much of the physical action in the play is pantomimed. Every actor brought to life both large and small movements to convey day-to-day tasks using pantomime. The mime choreographer, Matt Zambrano, did a remarkable job with this undertaking. Emily Van Fleet was the musical director for the several musical interludes found in the production, adding another worthy dimension to the play.
Brian Mallgrave provided the scenic design and Meghan Anderson Doyle was the costume designer. Both had a very tricky order to fill in that the production is supposed to be played without much consideration by the audience to either the set or costumes. Both accomplished this mandate along with the lighting designer Jon Dunkle.
Grover’s Corners of 1901 may feel far away to the present-day theatergoer, however, the messages about life, love and death found in Our Town ring true as much today as they did more than a century ago.
Eric Fitzgerald started producing plays when he was 5 years old. He spent eight years in New York City as a talent agent representing well-known actors and actresses. Fitzgerald also worked for the ABC Television Network for 12 years both with ABC News and ABC Daytime. He lives in Aurora with his cat Max.
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