WS Chronicle

By Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.D.

The Stained Glass Playhouse production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” opened on May 3-5 at the theater located at 4401 Indiana Avenue in the former sanctuary at Marvin United Methodist Church. Friday and Saturday productions are held at 8 p.m. and the Sunday production is held at 3 p.m. The productions will continue during the following weekends: May 10-12 and May 17-19. Each show is performed in three acts: “The Daily Life,” “Love and Marriage,” and “Death and Eternity.”

The plot of the drama revolves around the residents of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, a small American town. The people of the town go about their daily routines. Children go to school, newspapers and milk are delivered; people go to work, and people work in their vegetable gardens and flower gardens. A young boy and a girl from Grover’s Corners fall in love.

Does anyone realize how important their lives are each day? Or do we take all of our chances for granted? Do we walk around aware of our blessings, or do we stumble blindly through life without taking in the joy of the good and bad events of life? That is what this play is about.

The casting was outstanding. Scott Good was perfect as the Stage Manager. He built a strong rapport with the audience and delivered his lines with effective emotion. When he had to teach Emily how to recapture her birthday celebration, his words and actions set clear boundaries for the characters.

Emily Webb (Kady Tilley) and George Gibbs (David Bricquet) were very impressive as young innocent teens. They were so genuine as youth emerging into adulthood. Their relationships with their parents displayed their gradual emerging independence. Mrs. Gibbs (Donna Bissette) showed such devotion toward her husband, Dr. Gibbs (Roland Krueger) who dressed with such dignity and was so hands-on with his wife that their respect for one another seemed so genuine. Mrs. Webb (Jane Lucas) was so focused on her family for breakfast that the audience could almost taste the bacon. Mr. Webb (Archie Collins) dresses with the sophistication of a journalist or an objective thinker. He provides a perfect father image for his daughter, Emily.

Simon Stimson (Amir K. Cooper) was a standout in his role as the church choir director who had a drinking problem. His pantomime of playing the organ and his staggering down Main Street cause him to emerge as someone who should be pitied for his troubles. Yet his stumbling often lends itself to much-needed comic relief.

Mrs. Soames obviously loves weddings. She expresses her sentiments in words that provide comic relief as well. Rebecca Gibbs (Rebecca Satalino), Constable Warren (Debra Hanson), Joe Crowell, Jr. (Chadwick Holmes), Howie Newsome/Joe Stoddard (Gregg Vogelsmeier), and Townspeople (Brenda E. Humphrey and Cameron Quinn) are very versatile in their roles.

All who watch this drama should find time to evaluate where you stand. Are you aware of your purpose and accomplishments each day? Open your eyes and appreciate what is valuable about your destiny.

Director Mark A. Graves engendered the simplicity, depth, and balance necessary to bring a didactic, Broadway Pulitzer prize-winning play such as Wilder’s “Our Town” (1938) to the stage. Graves presented a masterful production of this American drama during his full-length directorial debut. The props Velna Pollock used to define the parameters of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, combined with Drew Proctor’s set construction painted an imaginative backdrop for the production by using mime, Allen Tyndall’s lighting design and a practical use of hand-held props and  diverse exposure for cast members. 

Sylvia Tyndall helped set the stage with her costumes that were so appropriate to mark the turn of the Twentieth Century American landscape and to populate such events as a wedding, a school day, a work day, or a funeral. Allen Tyndall used the various colors of light to show the passage of time, mood and energy. Very fine! The stage manager, Amanda Metcalf, made sure the blocking was clean, deliberate, and effective.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors (60+), $15 for students and teachers, and $10 for children under 12. To purchase tickets, or for more information about the show, visit stainedglassplayhouse.org/our-town or call the reservation line at 336-499-1010.