OFF-BROADWAY REVIEW
We
trekked through the snow this evening in what is now affectionately being
called "Snowpocalypse 2010" to see the off-Broadway production of
Thorton Wilder's "Our Town" at the Barrow Street Theatre. Having to
make the journey through the snow from midtown all the way down to the village
seemed like a daunting task, but my limited knowledge of the play had me eager
nonetheless. As we started out, I found myself slightly concerned. I knew
nothing of the play, but yet had heard about it so many times, and I wondered
then, would I be disappointed if it wasn't as good as it had been built up to
be? I would later find out any such fear was highly unfounded. As we took
our seats, on the stage itself, I glanced at my playbill and noticed that the
first member of the cast (listed in order of appearance) was Stage Manger. I
found this odd, but brushed it off to the assumption that said person would
come out and make a speech about turning off all cell phones and other
electronic devises that would not have had a role in this
turn-of-the-PREVIOUS-century play. Wrong.
Stephen Kunken took his spot at the center of the stage, which consisted of two
simple table and four chairs sets. He held up a flip-cell phone and snapped it
shut. He began with a thorough description of Grover's Corners New Hampshire,
which he let us know is "Our Town." This is turn of the century,
small town I
find myself laughing more than I originally anticipated. Aren’t most “classic”
plays dramatic? Aren’t all of the shows that kids do in high school more sad
than funny, or at least choked full of “morals”? Not this one. We may think
that their life was boring, but it was all they had. The show gives snap shots
of life, little vignettes, not necessarily in chronological order. The
set is nothing to speak of, but there were times when certain choices felt
awkward and out of place, such as the placing of a single chair on the table top
to indicate the upstairs bedroom of George Gibbs or Emily Webb. While it wasn’t
something I understood immediately, I had the distinct feeling that the
director, David Cromer, wanted it to be awkward. He wanted it to feel out of
place and different than it should, so I let it slide. A
few of the actors looked familiar, but when I checked them in the playbill,
none had ever been in anything I’d seen before. But that was part of their
charm, that everyone felt like they could be that Any man that you
recognize. That person who feels like the neighbor you’ve known all your life,
and for some strange reason that was comforting, even though I knew it was far
from the truth. There were, of course, inconsequential characters, but as they
say, there are no small parts, just small actors. Everyone made the best of the
roles they were cast in, and those who were given larger roles (even the many
understudies we saw) proved to be engaging and believable. The
only thing I found problematic and disturbing throughout the first two acts was
the costuming. I can get past black box staging. I can get past the lack of
scenery and even black box costuming with everyone in the same pit-colored
clothing. In this adaptation of “Our Town” they chose to give the characters
slightly modernized clothing. Everything was toned down, muted colors and,
often, paisley prints to be reminiscent of a time gone by. However, the girls
wore pants! I couldn’t believe that these post-Victorian women would be allowed
to do such. Every picture I had seen of previous productions showed the women
in full get ups. It wasn’t until the third act that it all came together. Just
when I thought I’d seen it all. I’d seen all the well-thought-out changes to
classic theatre pieces there was to see, I found myself biting my tongue. I was
wrong. David Cromer’s adaptation of “Our Town” is brilliant. I won’t give it
away, but the shift at the climax of the third act will blow your mind.
Suddenly the whole play makes sense. This isn’t just a funny string of
out-of-order moments. This isn’t just the days, weeks, or minutes in the life
of some small-town folk that we can’t hope to understand. This is a universal
story of life, love, death and understanding it all. Thorton
Wilder left us a fantastic piece of theatre that deserves to be revived time
and time again. It deserves all the accolades it gets, and deserves to be put
on by high school after high school. It even deserves the spot it had on the
old TV series “Growing Pains” (which was where I first heard of it as a kid).
But truly, it is David Cromer and the current cast of “Our Town” who really
bring it to life. Everything in this production is exactly as it should be.
Don’t walk, RUN to see this show. As an avid lover of musicals, I can
wholeheartedly say this play stole my heart. 
OUR TOWN OFF-BROADWAY REVIEW
Reviewed by Sasha Pensanti
Published 2010-02-11
Click here to buy group tickets.
