By Victoria Walker
Business Manager
On Thursday, January 30th, WATA opened its second main stage show of the year, Our Town. The classic play, written by American playwright Thornton Wilder, was directed by Dennis Canty and performed on January 30th and 31st and February 1st by a cast of 19 students.
Our Town, written in 1938, is a three-act play based in the early twentieth century, in the fictional American small town of Grover’s Corners. Narrated by the “Stage Manager”, played by junior Thomas Mitsock, the play follows the story of the town’s citizens over a number of years as they experience love, loss and go through their everyday lives. Primarily, the plot focuses on the relationship between Emily Webb and George Gibbs, played by senior Jennifer Michael and junior Stephen Koehler.
Like the fall musical, Les Miserables, Our Town is an old show that has been done and redone numerous times, and often in similar ways. The show did not generate the same hype as the fall musical, but Canty’s rendition of the play certainly managed to take a new approach to this timed script. It broke through the show’s “old” stigma to impress audiences. Using a set composed of five pieces that converged into a large circular platform, and no props other than chairs, Canty managed to create a very clear line between two neighboring houses, a church and local shop, and this life and whatever comes after it.
“I think Our Town is a show that can commonly be too easily branded as ‘old,’ but what we brought to it was a new aspect that made it relatable to all audience members in some way,” said senior Braley Degenhardt, who played Mrs. Webb, the mother of the play’s young protagonist. “I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are all extremely proud and grateful to have had the opportunity to do something really special with such a classic piece of theater.”
One thing that WATA’s Our Town did not lack was abundant audience reaction. Members of the audience laughed through the first couple of acts and fought back tears during Act III. Overall, the characters and their situations were relatable. As Canty wrote in his Director’s Note, “It’s a show about life, yes, but it’s really an indictment about how none of us know what living life actually means.”
All of this was thanks to the cast, who worked determinedly all winter.
“The cast was small, talented, and tight-knit,” said Degenhardt. “We all worked well together and extremely hard to produce a work that meant a lot to us individually and as a whole.”
While being void of an elaborate set and numerous props, the play still managed to entertain audiences and leave them pondering the deep questions that it proposed. Overall, it was a great show.
“The production had been the single most incredible acting experience I’ve ever had,” said Michael. “I was challenged and pushed in ways I never had been, I learned so much about myself, as an artist and as a human being. I adore the people I worked with, I adore the department, I adore the art.”
