Our Town

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Leonard Barrett, Jr. ties together the lives of the people living in a small fictional New England town, Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, as the Stage Manager for Thornton Wilder’s frequently produced play Our Town.

Back, left to right: Mark Dissette, Leonard E. Barrett, Jr., Lucy Roucis. Front, left to right: Kathleen Traylor, Daniel Traylor, Regan Linton, Jason B. Dorwart in PHAMALy’s production of Our Town. PHOTO by Michael Ensminger

For 17 years PHAMALy (The Physically Handicapped Actors & Musical Artists League) has knocked the socks off of theatre audiences and theatre people with their incredible performances with summer musicals, such as last year’s highly-acclaimed production of The Wiz, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Guys and Dolls. Most of the time they have preformed at the Space Theatre in the Bonfils Complex at the Denver Center For Performing Arts gleaning national recognition.

Their artistic wings having grown to enormous proportions, they decided to spread them even further to produce a non-musical co-directed by Steve Wilson and Nick Sugar at the Aurora Fox where PHAMALy began its award-winning artistic trek nearly 18 years ago.

From a bare stage with a single light bulb, Barrett brings the stage and Grover’s Corners to life providing the lay out of the small town. Not only does he narrate Wilder’s homespun words with casual ease, but uses his stance, his eyes, and his smile to punctuate everyday life in the small New Hampshire town. Barrett actually makes you believe he lives in Grover’s Corners, that he knows the town upside down and sideways, has lived with the people for years and loves them in spite of their unique quirks and idiosyncrasies.

Although short runs are a necessity for PHAMALy productions, it is unfortunate it has to be so. They deserve wide exposure and healthy runs. Talent speaks longer and louder than any disability, which PHAMALy demonstrates over and over, and over again.

For the most part, it took the actors until Act II to really get into their parts. Act I tended to drag, but the intensity of Act II and III picked up immensely as the actors wrapped themselves snugly into their characters. Quite frankly, it is astonishing PHAMALy was able to accomplish their goal. Because of the weather, the cast missed six rehearsals, but these people have the heart, the talent, and the artistic soul to persevere. They deserve accolades and respect by the carload.

Our Town zooms in on two families living side by side: the Gibbs and the Webbs. Mark W. Dissette plays Doc Gibbs with the compassion of a country doctor graciously allowing his wife, Julia, played by Kathleen Traylor to run the house and keep tabs on their two children Rebecca (Samantha Barrasso) and George (Daniel Traylor). Next door lives Editor Webb (Jason B. Dorwart), his wife, Myrtle, played by Lucy Roucis, their daughter Emily played by Regan Linton, and their son, Wally, played by Henry Reyes. Growing up, Emily and George are best friends who fall in love during their teen years and grow their relationship to marriage.

Simple space and simple furniture divide the two households. Much of the action demands pantomime with food and meal preparation by the two wives. Even in Act I when the actors warmed into their characters the preciseness of the pantomime remained eye catching.

The milkman, Howie Newsome (Alex Marin) remembered where to place and retrieve milk bottles, and where Bessie, his horse was. The newsboy, Joe Crowell (Erik Vickers) remembered where the porches were. Pantomime may appear relatively simple, but it is anything but simple.

The characters were deliberately written with broad strokes so audience members could muse over knowing “someone just like that.” This obviously worked because Wilder in his 30s at the time he wrote Our Town won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Dan Mauck takes Professor Willard, a sociology and political science professor at the state university for a hilarious joy ride through Grover’s Corners’ detailed history. At least, he tries to, until the Stage Manager gently interrupts him. Animated and filled to the gills with facts, Mauck brings hysterical results lifting Willard off the page with life.

Grover’s Corners is a quiet town, the Stage Manager explains. “Much drinking goes on,” raising the question of culture or love of beauty, With an understanding smile encasing his words, he answers with “There are a couple of girls who play the piano, but they don’t like it very much.”

Julia and Myrtle busy themselves with everyday things. Julia feeds the chickens and Myrtle snaps beans. The chat wile they do their chores without looking at each other.

As teenagers are universally, Emily crowds her head with important questions such as “Am I pretty enough?” The only answer she gets from her mother is “nonsense.”

A ladder is used to represent George’s bedroom while Emily perches on a high platform attempting homework while Emily remains enthralled over the moon.

Doc Gibbs uses a piece of psychology on George rarely used in today’s hell-bent-for-leather world. He reminds George how tired his mother is and how hard it is for her to chop the wood. “I guess,” he muses, “she’s tired of asking you.” It’s a charming moment between father and son and a connecting moment between Dissette and Daniel Traylor.

Act I refers to Daily Life Honored, and Act II refers to Love and Marriage. When George announces to his parents he and Emily plan on marriage, his parents, of course, especially Julia, muse over thinking George is too young. Both are fearful the two will run out of conversational material in a couple of week.

Nudged by Julia, Doc Gibbs attempts to give George advice with: start out early and make sure she obeys; never tell her how much money you have; and give an order no matter how ridiculous. George figures if he does the opposite of what his father says, he will be perfectly OK.

As George remembers how he and Emily fell in love at the end of their junior year in high school, Daniel Traylor and Linton provide and honest warm stage moment between two young people feeling the heartbeat of love for the first time. By now all of the warmth of the characters have caught fire.

In Act III nine years have gone by. Emily died in childbirth, and the Stage Manager takes the audience to the cemetery describing where various people are buried as the characters sit stoically in chairs. It is here Emily realizes the important things in life, that life goes on, that she can see things she never before saw. Wishing to relive one more day, she chooses her 12th Birthday, February 11, 1899. In the kitchen Myrtle busies herself with baking a cake and party preparations. Emily just wants her to stop and took at her, which her mother doesn’t have time to do. Not being able to stand her once upon a time reality, Emily wants to return to her grave. In grief, George collapses beside her, while Emily wishes those who live could see what she now sees. Linton gives a beautiful performance with crystal clear words and a comprehensive expression of astonishing wisdom.

Having some rough around the edges moments, having lost six rehearsals because of the snow, ice and wind aside. There remains sadness this cast and crew can’t have an extended run. Wilder’s words continue to pack a punch, and PHAMALY’s deliberate, artistic precise determination leaves one wanting more of what they have to offer.

Ironic as it may be that a particular predicament should arise during the run of PHAMALy’s Our Town: ushers not knowing how to read tickets correctly. The situation isn’t unique to the Aurora Fox. Several theatres, big and small struggle with the situation periodically, which I have always chosen to ignore in reviews. Usher 101, should assume ushers can read and know that L stands for Left and R stands for Right.

That certainly wasn’t the case the night I was there. This resulted in a great deal of confusion and having to move from one side of the theatre to the other. Because of a sciatic nerve injury I had to use a cane for balance. Inclines and stairs were particularly precarious, and there I was being bounced from one side to the other without any recognition that perhaps the cane meant something. Although the original usher read the tickets wrong, this resulted in other ushers being upset because I was in the wrong seats. Never mind the cane. Never mind the difficulty, the word was “wrong seats.” One person made the comment that the seating had nothing to do with the performance.

Au Contraire. The theatre experience begins before audiences even walk in the front door of the theatre. The theatre experience encompasses everything and everyone encountered before the house lights go down.

Theatres need to make sure their ushers know the basic difference between L and R and the specific seating chart, otherwise, Why Bother? It also helps greatly they know something about decorum in handling the unexpected.