“Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you!” Anna Brown as Emily Webb in the SHS production of Our Town.
Photo: Kristie Baker
By Lawrence Furbish and Barbara Sutcliffe
A glorious production by the Sanford High School Theater Company of Thornton Wilder’sPulitzer Prize winning Our Town lit up the Performing Arts Center’s stage this past weekend. Set in the small town of Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire, which could be any town, it presents a poignant meditation on the meaning of life and death.
Set in 1901 with minimal sets and a stage manager who comments on the various characters and directly addresses the audience, Our Town draws us into the everyday life of ordinary people. Act One is in fact titled “Daily Life,” Act Two, “Love and Marriage” and Act Three, although not titled, is set in a cemetery.
Emily Webb (Anna Brown) and George Gibbs (Jack Van Gieson) are the romantic leads portraying growth from awkward adolescence to love and marital commitment.
Their parents, the Webb and Gibbs families, are next door neighbors. Dr. Gibbs (Jakob Bendel), is the town physician, and Mr. Webb (Isaiah Goodale), the local newspaper editor. But it is their wives, Mrs. Gibbs (Avila Cyr) and Mrs. Webb (Ava Fagan) who are the real backbone of the families.
The heart of the play is the stage manager, and Braeden Landry does a top-notch job of playing with time, narrating what has happened, is happening, and is to come. He reminds us of the importance of community, something needed more than ever today. As he strolls the stage, often with his hands in his pockets, he is constantly making eye contact with the audience, cajoling us to enter the world of Grover’s Corner and its residents. Of note, because of the volume of lines for this actor, many productions have a podium with a notebook containing all the narrative. Braeden Landry accomplished his excellent performance without any assists.
A special shout out needs to go to Anna Brown (Emily) whose performance in the cemetery scene is transcendent. Through tears, she realizes that we humans in our everyday lives don’t appreciate what we have. We don’t understand. Thoughtfully, there were copious amounts of Kleenex in the lobby for arriving theatergoers and in the final act, they were very much needed.
With a large cast of 21 actors, the play is truly an ensemble piece with even the smallest lines from the briefest of characters being meaningful and significant. All these roles were admirably filled. These high-school actors delivered adult, professional performances. Jordyn Martin as Professor Willard, Claire Davie as Mrs. Soames, and Eleanor Journey as Howie Newsome, the milkman, all were excellent.
First performed in 1938, Our Town has been called “a little play with all the big subjects in it” and “the greatest American play ever written.” It is the American play most often performed. With the message of living life to the fullest and appreciating every day, it is filled with observations about time. At one point, the Stage Manager says, “The day’s running down like a tired clock.” And in one of those seemingly tossed-out lines that are easy to miss, when he is introducing Professor Willard to make a few brief remarks, he observes, “Unfortunately, our time is limited.” Doesn’t that succinctly sum up life?
A big thank you and kudos to everyone involved, cast, crew, and Director Brett Williams for bringing this timeless classic to us in such a wonderful production.
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