Our Town – A Timeless Classic Returns to Broadway

Nov 9, 2024 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town, written in 1938, one of the greatest American plays ever written returns to Broadway. Welcome to Grover’s Corners, a small New Hampshire town at the turn of the century, where life is predictable – people are born, grow old, and die. Wilder reminds us to take the time to notice and appreciate the small things, showing us the fleeting nature of life.

The show opens with Abraham Jam’s “Braided Prayer,” initially chanted in Hebrew, while the cast walks up the aisles holding lanterns, seemingly returning from a funeral. The procession is composed of Christians, Jews, and Muslims each uttering their prayers in musical harmony, signifying a spiritual connection. The performance ends in the cemetery, with the dead watching people who are so caught up in our daily lives, that they fail to appreciate the wonders surrounding them. “Oh, earth, you are too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it–every minute?” asks Emily, to which the Stage Manager (played by Jim Parsons) replies, “No. Saints and poets maybe…they do some.”

Our Town will be at the Barrymore Theater, through November 30. This performance features an all-star cast starring Jim Parsons (from The Big Bang Theory). This rendition is very different from the show you performed in high school.

Our Town is a must-see production.

The Story in Brief

Our Town is framed around two families, the Gibbs and Webb, a doctor and local publisher whose children, Emily (Zoey Deutch) and George (Ephraim Sykes) grow up, fall in love, and marry. All according to the prescribed flow of life. Along with the joy, these families experience more than their share of sadness.

As they die, the deceased return to rest for eternity in Grover’s Corner’s cemetery, a bucolic, tranquil site where they watch the village below. The play begins in 1901, a time we imagine as being simpler and less hectic. Yet, they had hard lives, woke early, worked hard, and dreamed, Mrs. Gibbs imagines taking a trip to Paris (which she never does).

The Stage Manager provides context, background, and commentary as an outside observer, standing in the shadows. He notes the transition between Acts, and moves the performance along, abruptly ending scenes once the intended point has been made. His role is one of guide and narrator explaining the scenery and pointing out the daily events. It’s as if Wilder wrote himself into the play as the narrator to make certain the audience understand.

Modernized but Not Changed

The show is set ‘now’ representing director Kenny Leon’s image of what Our Town would look like today, commenting that Wilder uses the word ‘time’ frequently during the play, making it a central component. There is minimal use of props to have the audience engage their imagination, focusing on the essentials of the human journey, life, love, joy, and pain. Leon writes ‘Our Town leans in with love and hope for a more precious future as we learn from our past.’

The performance embraces inclusion, neighbors living together as a connected community, supporting each other, black and white in perfect harmony. The local milkman is played by a deaf actor, John McGinty, who signs his lines. Their ability to peacefully coexist, resonates with us, especially now during this time of political and social divisiveness. In Grover’s Corners, the years pass but the daily patterns are repeated, almost unchanged, from generation to generation.

Appreciate the Small Things

It’s as if Wilder calls out to us from beyond the grave to focus on living. He reminds us to reprioritize, instead of focusing on work, we should acknowledge and appreciate the beauty and people around us. Our Town is a social commentary, a reminder that death is a universal equalizer, as the deceased sit shoulder-to-shoulder as time passes.

Our Town reminds us that we often live without really appreciating what life has to offer.

Our Town gives the expression ‘wake up and smell the roses’ a new meaning as Emily returns to relive one unremarkable day, the aroma of breakfast cooking fills the theater. Every detail about this performance was perfect. The words written by Thornton Wilder remain timeless and poignant. The show sends a powerful message – live, love, and respect life and each other while you can. Life is short.

This performance is too good to miss.

Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

Our Town will be at the Barrymore Theater, through November 30.

Our Town received 5 Challahs