New take on classic Our Town

By Maggie Sulc     10/22/09 7:00pm

On the surface of Our Town, the bare staging and the colloquial dialogue seem to suggest a simple play. But with director Gregory Boyd and the cast of the Alley Theater at the helm, the plot's simplistic action is imbued with more complex themes.For those unfamiliar with the play, there is no set for Our Town. Playwright Thornton Wilder penned the piece to have no backdrop, no curtains and only certain essential props like chairs and tables. Industrial ladders represent second-story windows and three rows of chairs signify a graveyard. With only the audience's imagination and a few instructions from the Stage Manager (James Black), Wilder creates the entire town of Grover's Corner - complete with its own Main Street, shops, churches, school buildings, railroads and family houses - from these meager elements.

The lighting and sound work nicely with the minimalist set to aid the audience's visualization of the setting without detracting focus from the characters. Spotlights, which are used sparingly, emphasize key moments while sound cues help demonstrate the actors' interactions with invisible props. With minimal tech work and stage design, the success of the show depends largely upon the actors.

At its essence, Our Town is about the inhabitants of Grover's Corner and how they live, fall in love and eventually die. All the roles are extremely important to convey this image of small-town simplicity, from the two leads, Emily Webb (Elizabeth Bunch) and George Gibbs (Jay Sullivan), to the milkman, Howie Newsome (Noble Shropshire). And in the Alley production, the actors have risen admirably to the occasion.

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The two mother characters, Mrs. Webb (Charlotte Booker) and Mrs. Gibbs (Josie De Guzman), stand out from the rest. Each of their motions and movements has particular significance, including their pantomimed gestures of housekeeping and cooking. Despite their happy marriages, these two women are creatures of habit, constantly working and toiling at life instead of enjoying it.

Director Gregory Boyd made a sage decision to cast children in the younger roles of Wally Webb and Si Crowell. While it's risky to cast children in such a serious, classic play, the young actors, rather than distracting the audience, perform beautifully and help create the essential family image.

Finally, there is the Stage Manager, arguably the most important character of the play and a challenge for any actor to portray. He is the narrator of the play, and his lengthy monologues drive the plot and establish the overall setting of the town and the backdrop of each scene for the audience. Black enlivens this role effortlessly, mastering his lines as if speaking one on one with the audience. Without his personable performance, Wilder's words would not have had the moving effect that helped make the play a classic.

But Black's monologues are by no means the overarching challenges of the piece. While the staging employs few props, its usage is perhaps more difficult than other, more intricate plays. Working within Wilder's specific stage directions, Boyd playfully includes the entire cast on stage at the beginning of each act, chatting and wearing a mix of costume and street clothes as if ready and waiting to present their part the moment the Stage Manager calls. The actors even remind the audience to turn off their cell phones at the beginning of the second act. At first, this mention of modern technology seems an odd contrast to Our Town's dated setting, but it fits perfectly with one of Wilder's themes: The town of Grover's Corner is slowly changing as new technology arrives, but the inhabitants still remain isolated within their own respective lives.

Boyd's only questionable amendment is the the removal of a kiss during George's and Emily's wedding in the second act. The two embrace but never share a nuptial kiss, even though the act is included in Wilder's script. The kiss could potentially be perceived as distracting to some, but it is an important action to show true affection between two characters and would have emphasized the true connection between the two newlyweds.

That being said, the Alley Theater's production of Our Town is a great start to their 2009 season. It showcases the creative direction they have become known for and adds a strong dose of impressive acting. Wilder would be proud to see his work produced so clearly.

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