'Our Town' takes to the Stowe Town Hall Theatre stage
July 13, 2022 | By Waterbury Roundabout
A scene from Stowe Theatre Guild's "Our Town" on stage through July 30. Courtesy photo
Stowe Theatre Guild presents the Thornton Wilder Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Our Town," July 14-30 at the Stowe Town Hall Theatre.
Using a bare stage and few props, "Our Town" tells the simple but affecting story of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, and its residents. In particular, it follows the relationship of two young neighbors, George and Emily, who navigate their budding romance through the course of the first act, leading to marriage in the second.
It is the play's transcendent third act however, which transforms "Our Town" from a nostalgic period piece into a timeless treatise on life, death, and the human condition. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938.
Director Michael Halloran said he believes that more than 80 years after its premiere, the continued appeal of the play lies in the issues it addresses. “Although it is set in a very specific time and place, what Wilder is writing about is nearly universal. We can still relate to these people because we still experience what they do: the small joys and frustrations of daily life as well as the big moments of love and loss. And Wilder tells us that all these moments, the big and small, are to be treasured because they are just that: fleeting moments,” he explained.
The Stowe production features a cast of veteran and new community actors from across Vermont, including Michael Smith, Matt Bellew, Adi See, Susan Loynd, Cynthia Seckler, Rachel Natvig, Ashley Hall, Asher Smith, Rebecca Driscoll, Teddy Waszazak, Clem Turmel, Wes Olds, Marci Robinson, and Marie A. Schmukal. Catie Smith is the assistant director.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays; Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets: $20 adults; $18 students with i.d.; $15 for seniors 65 and over and children 12 and under. More information and tickets are online at StoweTheatre.com.