Plays can transport one to new places, perhaps a magical land, a pivotal point in history, or perhaps the small town of Grover's Corners. While it might sound stale, “Our Town,” produced by James Madison High School, is a phenomenal play that always pulled me into the lives of these small town people.
“Our Town” was written in 1938 by none other than Thornton Wilder. The play is set in the small American town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, during the early 20th century. The “Stage Manager” acts as a narrator throughout the production, showing the everyday lives of the people who reside in the small town. Wilder decided to try something new, he decided to use minimal set pieces and props, relying on the use of pantomime. His logic behind this was “I know it's a play, you know it's a play, the only thing that's real in a play is emotion,” so that's all he focused on. A difficult task, but given in the right hands, “Our Town” grew into a huge success, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938.
Surprisingly enough, James Madison did a great job of painting the image of their town with minimal and simple tech. Chad Robertson did a superb job on sound cues, they were always on point but not overwhelming whatsoever. Josh Laney, who worked on the lights, used different lighting cues for the different times of day, a cloudy moon, and even the stained glass windows of a church! The tech never overpowered the actors, but always provided ominous sounds and lights the fit the scene.
Actor chemistry is the binding force of dramatic interpretation, and “Our Town” would be nothing without it. All of the actors in James Madison's “Our Town” had effective emotional bindings and feelings for one another. I felt as if they knew each other for all of their life, which immersed the audience. Another thing that added into the immersion was the use of effective pantomime. The various actors performed their daily tasks as if it was second nature, a good amount of work went into the pantomiming. One of the best moments of the show was when the two main children (Matthew Landsdell and Caroline Campbell) were conversing from their windows. They were across the street from each other, but I could feel the bond between them. What sealed this bond was the faint church choirs singing in the background, one could actually feel a part of their town.
In order to create a town with no set pieces, you have to have someone describe it to you, and that's where the Stage Manager (Mitch Coomer) came in. Coomer had a voice of gold, every little thing that came out of his mouth was perfectly enunciated with appropriate diction. Given into the wrong hands, the Stage Manager wouldn't be the interesting narrator that he was in this show. The audience was always looking forward to hearing what he had to say, Coomer was an excellent casting choice.
The emotional binds brought everyone together, and pulled the audience in. James Madison may have thought they put on a play, but it was much more than that. “Our Town” hit the audience on an emotional level that they won't forget soon. This show really made one think about life and the purpose behind it. Although Grover's Corners is a fictional town, it will be real to the viewers forever.