Stages & Pages

Watch out Romeo and Juliet; George and Emily might just take your jobs. Never have I seen a more endearing play about love and life than in the University of Georgia’s Department of Theatre and Film Studies’ rendition of "Our Town," written by Thornton Wilder. Nearly 150 people filled the seats of Morton Theatre for the two-hour production.

"Our Town" follows the everyday life of fictional small-town Grover’s Corner, N.H., during the early 1900s. When I say everyday life, I am talking about the most menial activities.

Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb, who are next door-neighbors, make breakfast each day, the kids leave for school, their well-to-do husbands leave for work, and the occasional town worker comes through with the milk, the paper, or just passing on the way to church. Everyone cordially interacts and discusses the happenings of the town.

Wilder’s early exposure to the idea of minimalist settings by Chinese actor Mei Lan-fang is evident in his minimalist settings in the three-act production. The actors, with the help of sound effects from time to time, used this simplistic prop approach flawlessly, leading the audience to believe that there really was a cow being led on stage or that strawberry sundaes were truly sitting on the bar as George Gibbs and Emily Webb sipped them at the general store. Ladders alone gave the idea that cast members were on the second story of a building.

The plot becomes interesting when George and Emily fall in love. Though the lifestyle of Grover’s Corner seems monotonous, these characters bring it to life and create moments that will make you laugh, cry, fall in love with them, and simply get caught up in their lives.

The two lovebirds lead us through their lives and the trials and triumphs they face. Each actor was more than aptly chosen for his or her part and played quite convincing roles. On occasion the accents seemed to channel Jersey and Deep South dialects more than those of New Hampshire, but never enough to ruin the scenes.

Throughout the play a narrator interrupted scenes to give background information about the town and its people. Though helpful in understanding the overall play, it was often distracting for him to pop on stage to interrupt and even interact with the other characters.

I think it was so distracting because of the ability of the actors to draw the audience into their lives. The interruptions took the audience back to reality and out of the simple but charming life of Grover’s Corner.

When actors speak from the graveyard about life lessons in Act III, the audience is left in awe, wondering about their own views on the little things in life. To me, it says a lot about a play if it can go beyond pure entertainment and persuade someone to think deeply.

With strong characters and a lesson about the importance of cherishing the small things embedded in the plot, it is no wonder that Wilder won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938 for this play. With all due respect, the credit of this particular performance is not entirely due to Wilder.

The gifted young actors, actresses and production staff of UGA brought the characters off the paper and on to the stage. They gave them life and brought every emotion out of the crowd. Between Wilder’s words and the UGA production staff, they made for an outstanding play. I admittedly was brought to tears by the death of a main character and I laughed out loud at the quirky characteristics of each character.

I’d venture to say I would react the same way regardless of how many times I saw the play. And that is something Romeo and Juliet never came close to.

Venue Web site: The Morton Theatre