Our Town

media release: By Thornton Wilder. Directed by Tim Ocel.

Playing: Hill Theatre | June 23 - September 22

Featuring: Tracy Michelle Arnold, Teri Brown, Nate Burger, Sarah Day, Jim DeVita, Tim Gittings, Kailey Azure Green, Josh Krause, Brian Mani, Jamaque Newberry, Samantha Newcomb, Ronald Román-Meléndez, James Ridge, Jefferson A. Russell

Last Seen at APT: 1992 (!!)

About Our Town

Every moment holds a mystery. We set them free without a thought – endless choices slipping past us with every breath. But then, there are the ones that flash with inevitability, when we are frozen for a beat in the light of our shifting stars. Emergent love. Stunning comprehension. Shattering grief. Brilliant shards of life that are universal, and completely unique to the folks that bear them. Grover's Corners is a town made up of these moments, brought to life by its irresistible residents. Each charming soul experiencing a life that’s uniquely their own, within the embrace of their community. They share a simple human truth – that even when we feel most insignificant, we are part of something grand and endless. An American Classic not seen on this Hill in a generation. See it this summer with fresh eyes and an open heart.

If there's one play that's about all of us, it's Our Town. It focuses in on the relationships we have with the people closest to us, and to the people who dip in and out of our orbit. It is about caring for each other, and the moments we miss as people we love become more and more familiar. And then there's the third act, which, just in case you haven't seen or read it, we are absolutely not going to spoil.

But one more thing about this production before we move on - the Stage Manager will be played by Sarah Day. Sarah. Day. Brenda will fill you in on all the reasons to see it, but this is a big one.

Now, a bit more about how the play came to be. Thornton Wilder was born in Wisconsin, but Our Town was not written in Wisconsin. In fact, he didn't even write it in the country. Wilder was abroad as part of the MacDowell Colony Artists' Retreat while he worked on this play. He decided to write Our Town in part as a protest to what he considered overly-lavish and foolish plays and musicals that had taken over stages across the country. It was published and produced to great acclaim in 1938 and won Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Favorite Wilder quote: “I hate being alone. And I hate writing. But I can only write when I’m alone. So these working spells combine both my antipathies.”