OUR TOWN - Thornton Wilder

Before I even get into it... I really enjoyed this play. One of my favourite in the project so far. But first, let's get to that outcome.

"Our Town" is a play whose name gets bandied about a fair bit. I've heard people, mostly actors, mention it fondly as a play they'd been in as an amateur or during school theatre. I don't know exactly what I expected...maybe something twee and sweet, maybe a vibe or setting something like the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" (I might add that is a fantastic movie and not at all pale or vapid).

The setting IS from a similar era ... it presents a 13 year sweep from the the beginning of the 20th century and alludes to events in the years that follow. It also has a focus on small town living, neighbourly neighbours, simplicity and the importance of every day things, so there are some similarities. 

It covers a number of related themes but the central one for me was that we should make the most of every moment. As Ferris Bueller might say: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. (Chicka Chick-ahhhh).

"Our Town" is set in the fictional town of Grover's Corners New Hampshire and the play is told across three time-aligned and thematically-distinct acts: Daily Life, Love and Marriage, and Death and Eternity.

Grover's Corners is a simple, quiet, friendly town. Founded in the 1600s, some of the family names from back in the day are still around and still prominent. Two families are shown in particular detail... the Gibbs family and the Webbs. ([Light spoilers] There is a pending relationship that will unite the families, there will be joys, and sorrow, and loss. There will even be reflections from the afterlife that lean into "It's a Wonderful Life" and even "A Christmas Carol," although the `moral to the story' angle is less specific and heavy handed. We all waste time on Earth.

The message and the manner

There are some salient messages in this play, but what grabbed me was the manner in which it's told. Some of the references I make will be to the 2003 Broadway Production (starring Paul Newman, no less), however the story telling techniques I refer to are written into the script and feature (presumably) in every production.

The stage is set very barely. Two tables and some chairs, if you're lucky. Characters, when on stage, mime actions (sweeping, pouring milk, lead a whinnying horse etc) and in many productions those actions are supported by sound effects.

A key element of "Our Town" is the omniscient Stage Manager. He (in this version, but in other productions could equally be she or they) addresses the audience directly, provides a brief biography and travelog of the town, letting you know where the main points of interest are and who some of the key people are, makes some brief stage directions "for those who think they have to have scenery," and set the play in action.

I found the combination of the interjected narration guiding us through the story (and also giving us a peek into the future), the simplicity of the set and the miming of actions added a real stillness to the play that drew me in more than I expected. I know old mate Bertolt Brecht was a big fan of breaking the fourth wall and guided commentary but he also hated people being drawn to characters or suspending disbelief, and this is very much not meant to be subversive or political or deconstructed. Two examples of how a theatrical element can be used... and I much preferred this usage of fourth wall breaking.

Watching the play

Watching this play (I have to confess, I only read a few pages of the print copy to check the sort of stage directions used) reminded me of the feeling I had when I first saw the film "Citizen Kane". It was very very old when I saw it (believe it or not, it's even far older than me) and I couldn't believe how adventurous, novel and experimental some of it's story telling techniques. And I'm sure that sounds patronising, but I guess I had an opinion of what was being done cinematically at the time and this was far in advance of that.

I had the same feeling with "Our Town."

In some ways, it broke the prevailing mold of theatre at the time, gave people a different theatrical experience and yet still made very personal, maybe even intimate connections.

I mentioned the 2003 filmed Broadway version with Paul Newman in the lead.  It's honestly as food as any role he has played. I went back and watched it again (and the two other versions I saw... I will get to that later). Newman's stage manager was like everyone's uncle, everyone's grandfather, and his delivery of subtleties and shared confidences elevated the role. 

Now, I am a terrible actor and the world is better off for me removing myself from the stage. But this role is the only dramatic role I can think of that I'd like to have a go at... not because I would do it well, but because it is so well written. Its monologues are perceptive, and maybe a little didactic, but a little like listening to life goals from a beloved mentor. The role has not the bombastic power of Hamlet or Macbeth or even Colonel Jessup. Instead, it's power lies in it's familiar, colloquial and engaging performance. 

My favourite line, from Act III, when Emily  asks "does anyone ever realise life while they live it... every, every minute.", the stage manager replies "No. Saints and poets maybe... they do some". Love that. Just honey for my ears.

In any version, the role is already part stage manager and part narrator... and possibly even a version of God with his ability to return people from the afterlife and come to final conclusions about life. It would be good in many actors' hand, I'm just saying Newman nails it. This version, I may add, also featured Jane Curtin (SNL and Third Rock from the Sun, Jayne Atkinson and Jeffrey DeMunn (you'll recognise them if you see them... an exemplary troupe.

Other versions

It's a very popular play and so there are quite  few versions to choose from. The oldest I could find was the film adaptation actually screen-written by Thornton Wilder himself, so you know the script changes were approved.  Made in 1940 with and directed by Sam Wood with William Holden in the key role of George Gibbs (boyfriend then husband to central character Emily). It foregoes the simple staging, doesn't have need for  bare stage or miming, and in fact uses some very clever (especially for its time) cinematography, especially in then opening introduction by the now-stageless stage manager, and at the end with several souls conversing in the afterlife. And, spoiler, a key figure doesn't die... which again, Wilder approved because he wrote the change. I quite enjoyed this very different take.

The other version I saw was the 1989 Lincoln Center telecast with Spalding Gray as stage manager, and featuring Frances Conroy, Eric Stoltz, Penelope Ann Miller an (a favourite of mine) James Rebhorn. It's also well worth a look, but in direct comparison with Newman's stage manager, Spalding Gray didn't carry the same gravitas. Maybe I should have watched it first.

And there are many versions I haven't seen but would like to. Remember I just mentioned Citizen Kane? Well its co-writer, director, producer and lead actor Orson Welles played the stage manager in the first radio production in 1939. Frank Sinatra has played the stage manager in a live television musical version 1955 (Newman was in that version as George Gibbs). Other actors to take on various roles in various productions of Our Town include Eva Marie Saint, Hal Holbrook, Ned Beatty, Helen Hunt, Michael McKean, Ed Begley, Jim Parsons, Zoey Deutsch, Katie Holmes and Richard Thomas among many others.

Final notes

So yep, I've become a massive fan of this play and maybe this was the antidote I needed after struggling with Brecht. The play picked up a Pullitzer Prize for Drama for Thornton Wilder in 1938 and he earned another in 1942 for "The skin of his teeth." Wilder had previously picked up a Pulitzer for his novel "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", making him the only writer to be awarded Pulitzers for both drama and novels. Maybe I've cut Thornton short and should have looked at more of his plays.

Famed playwright Edward Albee ("Who's afraid of Virginia Woolfe" - which I'll be looking at later -  among others) called this the greatest American Play ever written. Hmmmm. Look, I have my existing biases. I already know that, going into this project and not being familiar with many of these plays, that "The Crucible" was my existing favourite.  It still is, even after seeing this, but this play is definitely a contender to the crown and worth serious consideration for it's cleverness, it's sense of invention and the warmth and universal application of its message.

This is probably my favourite of the 18 odd plays I've looked at so far. I highly recommend it and would love to see it in Goulburn.

Materials accessed:

"Our Town" - 1938 (script). Versions available for free from various website, including the CDN website.

"Our Town" - 2003 (pro-shot video). Recorded at New York's Booth Theatre and available freely on Youtube (1).

"Our Town" - 1940 (film). United Artists movie, available freely on Youtube (2)

"Our Town" - 1989 (filmed stage version). Recorded at the Lyceum Theatre an available freely on Youtube (3).