Our Town

 Our Town
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
September 28, 2024 

Photo courtesy of Our Town

Director Kenny Leon brings Thornton Wilder’s Our Town into the 21st Century.  His casting choices are purposeful and comprehensive.  His timing is compact and concise.  He trimmed down this three act classic to a one hour, forty-five-minute running time, with no intermission.  The action flows continuously, and the pace impacts the theme.  Even though a few of the quaint, defining moments are missed, Thornton Wilder’s words and philosophy ring with effortless sincerity, giving the audience timeless truths to contemplate.

Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly First Look

The play opens as the cast slowly assembles on stage singing a spiritual hymn that unites an extensive population.  The Stage Manager (played by Jim Parsons) silently enters.  As the cast disperses, he welcomes the audience, introduces the play, and describes the town.  He presents the characters, focusing on the Gibbs and Webb families.  Dr. Gibbs (played by Billy Eugene Jones) is returning from delivering twins on the other side of town, as Mrs. Gibb (played by Michelle Wilson) and their neighbor, Mrs. Webb (played by Katie Holmes), prepare breakfast for their families.  It is a day in the life of the residents of Grover’s Corners.  Time passes with ease and grace. 

Ephraim Sykes, Richard Thomas, & Zoey Deuth
Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly First Look

The action swiftly moves into the second act with the wedding of George Gibbs (played by Ephraim Sykes) and Emily Webb (played by Zoey Deutch).  The pace picks up.  The anticipation of this event is high and full of anxiety.  The Stage Manager takes us back a few years to the day that George and Emily discover that they are meant to be together for the rest of their lives.  This is a life changing moment for them.  We move forward to the nuptials, when Mrs. Soames (played by Julie Halston) proclaims that it is a beautiful wedding. 

Act III is where Thornton Wilder makes his statement about life and eternity.  It is in this act that every subtle detail from Acts I and II are profoundly seamed together.  The writing is poignant and touching.  The action is unexpected and reflective.  The journey might end here, but the experience continues to exist in perpetuity. 

Jim Parsons as the Stage Manager
Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly First Look

The hymn sung in the opening is “Braided Prayer” by Abraham Jam, which features prayers from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths.  Anyone knowing this play is aware that this is a new addition, and a brilliant one.  The audience is immediately pulled into an experience that extends beyond the scope of any previous production.  With interracial casting and the casting of a deaf actor playing Howie Newsome (John McGinty), the diversity of Our Town now reflects who we are as a nation.  The ease in which the characters communicate in sign language and live together as a united multiracial community speaks volumes.  This story has always been universal, and now, due to Mr. Leon’s vision, is fully inclusive.

Our Town is playing at The Ether Barrymore Theatre.  It is a new interpretation of a great American classic. 

Domenick Danza