I was 10 years old in 77 when this aired on PBS that year. Even though I was just a kid, I loved it. Sada Thompson and Barbara Belle Geddes were two of my favorite tv ‘’mom like’’ actresses back then. Along with Hal Holbrook, John Houseman, Ned Beatty and Robby Benson - you can’t go wrong! I’m 54 now and watching it again.
Damn. "Our Town" has choked me up every time I've read or watched it. Watched the original movie version with my grandfather when he was the age I am now. Time keeps moving along.
This production was incredible, and now as I recall, faithful to Wilder's stage directions that there be a minimum of props so that the actors had to pantomime their actions. Some might fight this sparseness distracting, but I felt it further encouraged the imagination; our town could be your town, and therefore every town anywhere, just as the experiences of the residents in "Our Town" reflected the human experience universally. A brilliant play, celebrating the magic in the most ordinary existence, reminding us all to cherish each and every moment.
@ewd76 It's a conflict for me. I love the Copeland score and the movie in general, but a production like this is really what the play was supposed to be and love it as well (having done it in high school (doesn't everyone?) doesn't hurt).
This production does have its charms, but was obviously a television production of the play. Check out the 1988 Lincoln Center Theatre version (also on RU-vid) that was staged more simply with fewer furniture props and settings and won the TONY Award for Best Revival of a Play, as well as other theatrical awards. The Thornton Wilder Society endorsed it as the best filmed version based on the playwright's original conception.
Played George my senior year of HS. I think that's a perfect time to watch this show, the message has always stuck with me. We all have to realize just how lucky we are to live and love while we still can.
Just watched it again after not having seen it in years.... So beautiful!! The cast is so good. Hal Holbrook is warm & comforting & wise as the narrator. And Robbie Benson & Glynis O'Connor shine as George & Emily. Their scenes are touching & believable, probably because the couple was dating when this was made.. I really love the scene when George & Emily discover that they love each other. Their voices crack with emotion, makes me want to cry every time. And of course Emily's scenes at the cementary, reliving the one day from her life..
This was broadcast on PBS when I was 12 and I was so deeply struck by it -- the oddness of the empty stage and pantomimed props, the mysterious heartache of Emily when she's falling in love with George and, of course, the devastating scene when she tries to go back and can't. Watching it now, at age 57, I feel like I am a ghost of the future watching that scene with my 12 year old self. I find this play as bleak as Beckett and profound as the Gospel. We won't live forever, but it might.
This, imo, is the quintessential version of OUR TOWN. I read that Thornton Wilder gave his mark of approval for this adaption of his play... A very moving production, & an excellent cast.
For me, Hal Holbrooke is the quintessential narrator for Our Town. Emily is perfect, too. The entire cast and everyone involved created a masterpiece in this production of Thornton Wilder's brilliant play. Thank you for this magical experience. Emily's closing speech helped me earn my last year of college tuition. This was a gift to me in many ways.
This really is the best version. I thought Hal Holbrook, Sada Thompson, Ned Beatty, Charlotte Rae, Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor were all absolutely perfect in their roles.
Watching again with my granddaughter in 2021, relevant when I watched it in 77 and relevant today,my granddaughter has an essay assignment, I understand why her teacher assigned it, my granddaughter was shocked that I knew it,😃 it is a beautiful and touching play, a classic and one of the best.Virtual homework is very different from being at school, sad that the young people are having to go through so many changes, but this is an awesome assignment .
It is an immortal work of art, a chef d'oeuvre, to me . I uploaded it when I was studying English Literature at university and I had to write a 5 page essay on it. I have been reading everyone's comments on it since then. Thank you ,Sharon, for sharing this beautiful comment, and be blessed with your granddaughter.
I'm sitting here in tears, and I'm nowhere near the end. The scene where Dr. Gibbs takes George to task for his treatment of his mother sneaked up on me. The understated dignity of Ned Beatty, and the way Robby Benson seems ashamed, and guilty to the point of tears is just beautiful. And Dr. Gibbs raises his allowance to let him know that it's ok, that George is ok, because Gibbs knew his son would take it hard. A brilliant scene, very movingly played.
This is the best production of "Our Town" I've ever seen...Captures both the joy and darkness of Wilder's view of life...It is not a sentimental play and its realistic view of the human condition stays with you. Thanks for posting this!!
I saw this when it first appeared live on t.v. IT reminds me so much of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania where I lived and went to school in the 1960's . It was such a beautiful town, so much like the one in this play. I dont think it is very nice any more.
I watched this as a kid on PBS, and it really affected me. Particularly the cemetary scene. I'm so pleased to be able to see it once more. Oh how the world has changed, and not necessarily for the better. I love anything with John Houseman. Remember The Paperchase?
Leigh Burton I remember as well watching this as a kid. I am 51 now so I was basically 9 years old watching this with my family and I think it aired on a Sunday night. I remember distinctly being creeped out a bit but affected by the cemetery scene with the dead people sitting on chairs. I guess it scared or creeped me a bit at that age. I thought as a kid they were speaking from heaven. I couldn’t understand the play at that age but I distinctly remember the dead in the cemetery scene. It’s enlightening as a middle age adult now how much significance this play has to say on Spirituality, the Afterlife. And embracing each day on earth with gratitude
I remember when this aired on PBS in late spring of 1978. I was 17 and about to graduate from high school in a few days time. My parents had given me a pocket watch, which was a family heirloom, as my graduation present. It was inscribed "Love, Mom & Dad, June 9, 1978". I still have that pocket watch. It is one of my dearest possessions. A day or two after they gave me the watch, I was laying in front of the TV admiring it when this production came on. I was riveted. To this day, that pocket watch and Hal Holbrook and this production are inextricably linked in my mind. I'm 59 now. What I wouldn't give to go back to that night, laying in front of the TV, watching this production, Mom & Dad fast asleep, the dogs laying beside me, one on either side, and my pocket watch on my stomach, the whole on my life stretching out before me like a highway leading into the distance. There was something about this production, I can't explain it, that seemed to whisper in my ear: revel in thine youth.
Just last year I was in the ensemble for our production of Our Town, and honestly, it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done! Even with few enough lines I could count them on my fingers, it changed me forever. My baseball player outfit felt like a flimsy piece of cardstock, and I had to bring in my own suit to play the dead person- I had to change costumes in 6 minutes to make my cue 😂. Now, I’m in a named role for another production of a different show! I still can’t stop thinking about this, though.
I remember watching this play just a few days before graduating from High School in 1978. I was still in the throes of final exams and needed a break from Physics and the incomprehensible principles governing fluid dynamics (Archmedes’ principle being one of them) when I turned on the TV late on a Saturday night (while all my other classmates were out celebrating) to find this play being televised. I was immediately drawn in…there was something about the plot that seemed so peculiarly relevant and applicable to the moment in which I was living. The fleeting passing of time….opportunities squandered and lost forever due to inertia or laziness or just not recognizing what those opportunities represented. I felt like the play was written FOR ME. I sat there in rapt attention, watching the play and stealing glances at the antique pocket watch my parents had given me that very afternoon (it was a family heirloom, engraved with the date, June 9, 1978 and “Love, Mom & Dad”). That watch and that play…I was convinced there was a message about time somewhere between the two of them. But was it a message to revel in it's seeming abundance or to take haste at its fleeting, temporal nature? I still have the watch, btw, although I lost Mom and Dad quite some time ago.
You and I graduated from high school in the same year, and I, like you, sat and watched this production with rapt attention. Thanks so much for posting your memory of this wonderful production of my favorite play.
CaesarInVa thank you for your heartfelt comments. I guess the play conveys how unhappy people are every day due to wasting time, and not giving and receiving real intimacy and connection with people.
We did it in high school almost almost 50 years ago and at the end of the the play, our band director, who was in the audience, a great guy but not one who necessarily expressed his emotions openly, had tears in his eyes. We did a great job - so I wish you well as you do this great play.
@@robertaa7143 it went great i had trouble remembering the ending parts for emily so i literally listened to the video everyday and while I was going to sleep in order to memorize but unfortunately one our shows got cut due to the violent spread of covid once it hit the U.S. we performed for two days in a row and it was great 🥰🥰🥰
Justin Aames she apparently didn’t do much prominent roles in movies. I just knew her from the Family TV series though her Wikipedia entry shows a vast array of work. Not every actress or actor is a superstar. A lot of tv performers are not taken seriously or as credible as film performers. I think Ms. Thompson did an excellent performance in this role. She has a commanding distinguished stage presence and acted the role with the perfect emotion. It was good to see her and Charlotte Rae who was Mrs. Garrett in Facts of Life in other roles showing their versatility from what their familiar TV roles are. I’m sure they both relished in the opportunity to act in roles other than their weekly TV series.
@@analogkid4957 ...True, in fact the best actors and actresses are typically not superstars. Thompson and Bel Geddes were known more for their stage roles...in particular Thompson who received the Tony Award- before being lured to television. Both women were Emmy Award winners, and had distinguished and respectable careers which outshone many a household name.
It is sure to be one of the best performances of our towns. Perhaps the emotional performance of Emily and George will be difficult to see in the future. And it is the best place to see the life in the early 1900s.
If you can find it, please also post the production of "The Skin of Our Teeth" that was also broadcast on PBS's "American Playhouse"' in the early 1980's and starred Sada Thompson as Mrs. Antrobus.
Viewing this on television decades ago helped me fall in love with theatre and experience - what I only learned many years later what is called - catharsis.
I am so pleased to find this! I’ve often had students perform Emily’s final speech. And nothing beats being able to see (rather than just read) the play! Thank you so much 😊
Thank you so much for posting this. I so much wanted to share it with my granddaughters, but the $60 price of dvd on Amazon (the only other place that I could find it) was prohibitive.
We read this in school out loud. I played Emily and the boy I loved played George. I was dating someone else then. But my first love will always hold a place in my heart. Randy herald. 1986.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU for posting this!! IF you can find a DVD copy, it's over $100. By generously posting this to RU-vid, you've made this wonderful production available TO THE WORLD or until somebody yanks it. Just yesterday, I emailed Glynnis O'Connor just to tell her how much in love with her I used to be and to thank her for being who she is and sharing herself with us. I hope she gets it. Now, I can show this to my 16-year-old daughter, who dreams of being a film director. She can come to love this production too, because of your consideration. Again, Thank You!
I remember reading this play in one of my classes in high school; it had a very profound impact on me to say the least. Especially at 1:52:21 and the stage manager's response.
All of your comments are true. This is the definitive version of the play. The 1940 film is wonderful as well but this version is so profound, it should almost be required to see! It had such a profound effect on me that I recommended we do this for our Fall production in high school. The director agreed. I played Professor Willard!
thanks for uploading! was just cast as emily in my college's production and have been looking for a performance to watch to get the feel of the character. what a great actress!
They are both beneficial. As you read, you could picture the characters and have your own made up play in your head. I personally think, this will make you creative and will sharpen your mind. However, it is more fun watching the play.
L'UDP (l'Union Dramatique de Bruxelles) joue actuellement cette pièce (en français) à Bruxelles. Elle a été jouée en anglais (Our town), également à Bruxelles, en novembre 2017, au BEAT.
In fact, it was originally developed and written in part in France and Europe by Thornton Wilder while he was visiting time with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas for an extended period of time.
Wow what an impressive production, really touching. I completely understand why Wilder wanted the scenery to be minimal, it's like radio in a way, theater of the mind. I feel so privileged to have these special experiences just a click away.
For a while now I’ve been searching for this exact production because I watch this exact production of this play in school, and now I find it? Tell me what the heck!
Ross, how is this play regarded in New Zealand? Is it seen as a play specifically about life in America? Or, is it seen as a play about life in general?
You must see the film....most of the original cast. All the idiots that got to school, teach school or pretend to know anything should learn, teach KNOW this great American play. A life and time long gone but so relevant today. God Bless Thorton Wilder!
Wow I Just Watched this,Such a sad Story in a Way,Great Performances by the entire Cast.I’m an admirer of Glynnis O,Conner ,She’s Such a Cutie with her Former Boyfriend Robby Benson.I heard her say in interviews it was like real life and acting at the same time
When Dr. Gibbs suggests George chop wood for his hard-working mother he ( the Dr.) knows all he has to do is toy around with George's emotions. I guess when Mrs. GIbbs complains of George not helping her Dr. thinks "I can see it's time for another tearjerking lecture."
bad bad memories i did this play with my drama group, it was quite fun. but this was the first play i had ever done and i was the stage manager._. i messed the very first line! THE FIRST LINE OF THE ENTIRE PLAY
