I used to be an usher for school plays in high school for bonus points in a class. One year they did this play. 16 year old me was not ready for the themes this play deals with. Watching it at nearly 30 years old is a trip. It’s profoundly moving. The stage manager’s monologue at the start of the last act hits much harder as you get older. It’s so sad when Emily breaks down because she realizes she can’t relive events of the past, as the emotional turmoil of doing so is just too much for anyone. Great writing and great actors
I saw it for the first time when I was sixteen, too; moved to tears, I was. The next year our high school performed Our Town. 3 weeks before auditions the director came to me with a script and said "You're the Stage Manager, start memorizing now." It stands to be one of the most humbling privileges to have played such a pivotal role for arguably the greatest play ever written. To get to the closing monologue, to speak as to hear a pin drop all around you as you painted how life goes on as it always does, to wish the audience a good rest and good night, and that moment of silence as it all sunk in before the rush of applause... it was a trip to be sure.
Peter Kreeft once said the tragedy of Our Town is that it's so simple it's usually taught to high school aged kids, who don't yet have the life experience to grasp it. I'm 38 and try to watch the third act once a year - it's a masterpiece and makes me weep every time. It hits just as hard in 2024 as it did in 1940 - how many of us, if after death we could go back and observe ourselves living, would be dismayed that we were always distracted from everything wonderful around us, and were more concerned with cleaning the house or whatever was on a screen?
This is my favorite play! Loved the movie starring Robert Holden. I had the honor of seeing this at the Westport Country Playhouse before it went to Broadway. I had a 3rd row seat and could almost reach out and touch Paul when he was on stage. The Newmans lived in Westport, as did I in the 70s, 80s, 90s and early oughts. Paul drove a VW beetle convertible and passed my house on North Main Street many a time. Walking on Main Street one day, I saw he and Joanne walking towards me. There was an unwritten agreement in Westport not to bother the celebrities who lived in town, so I passed them with a pounding heart and without acknowledging them. He was a gorgeous man. After he passed, I saw Joanne at a political rally on the town green. She was a lovely grandmother. She has Alzheimer’s now, and has not been seen publicly for a long time. Wonderful memories of a time now gone by - both in Westport and in Thornton Wilder’s New England town.
Thank you so much for posting this. A wonderful production of my all time favorite play. However, I was always unreasonably irked by the fact that in Act III Emily greets several people by name but not her brother Wally. Some productions (including the 1940 film) add a verbal exchange others (e.g. the excellent 1977 TV production) are faithful to the original and have no acknowledgement of Wally by his newly arrived sister. in this version there is a wonderful, touching moment at 1:38:48 where Emily stands before Wally and they exchange an unspoken look and a slight smile passes Wally's otherwise expressionless face for a brief instant. I found it to be a lovely natural way to address the brother and sister reunion without muddying up one of the most brilliant final acts of a play. Thanks again!
Maybe it’s the vodka but wow I cannot make it through the first ten minutes of this. I’ll come back whenever RU-vid pops it in my face again. I know it’s a legendary seminal work.
The juice of half a lime in the vodka will do wonders. Don't worry, you've plenty of time to see it....I hope. This play will continue to be produced long after you and I have turned to dust.
Paiul Newman was in the 1955 TV version, where he played George. The play featured Frank Sinatra as the stage manager. Eve Marie Saint played Emily. It's available on You Tube.
I have studied and built my family tree. New England, Mass. Connecticut, New Hampshire etc. This play captures the New England/ descendants of the Puritans perfectly. The Congregational church mentioned was founded by the Puritans. These people were meticulous keepers of genealogical records (when the stage manager looks at notes to see who Julia was before marriage). .
@@Danbach90 I’m mostly referring to the end of the play, the last scenes of Act III. I just rewatched that portion while following along with the text. Yes, the differences are minor. I played Constable Warren in a production of the play many years ago, and I’ve grown so attached to the exact words and phrasing of that final scene, especially the closing lines from the stage manager. They’re delivered so well here-but knowing the words by heart and hearing something different has a smack of dissonance to it.
Your director should be a staunch guide for what is expected from the cast. Spend time deciding what words to emphasize and highlight them in the script so as you're learning it, those words jump out at you and cement themselves as important. Apart from that, let the play affect you; take to heart the lessons and themes because they are truly timeless.
