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Our Town
By Thornton Wilder
Produced by the-hypocrites
At Chopin Theatre
1541 W. Division
Chicago, IL
Tickets: www.the-hypocrites.com, $25
Thur-Sat. at 8:00, Sat. & Sun. matinees at 3:00
Running time is 2 hours with 2 intermissions
Through October 26th
A Masterful Production of Wilder’s Timeless Masterwork
If you think of Our Town as a mostly light and humorous ode to daily life in a simpler America, you are likely thinking of the movie. The Pulitzer-winning 1938 play has a somber ending that leaves its audience shaken, pensive, and if it’s done well, tearful. Director David Cromer and the magnificent cast of the-hypocrites’ remounted production of Our Town is a faithful tour de force that will leave you choking back your emotions and thinking deeply about your own life on the way out of the theatre.
Performed without a set and only a few props, Our Town is set in a theatre and relies on a stage manager/narrator and its actors to create the cycle of life in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire circa 1901-1913. It is a nostalgic re-creation of a simpler life, but the humor is far from sappy and the dialogue is absolutely authentic. The action centers on two families – the love, marriage and death of the son of one and daughter of the other – but it is really not about the families. Rather, Our Town is about the way we live and the way we look – or fail to look – at the people all around us. The lamentation of the tragedy of failing to see how quickly life passes and to take time to really see all that is around us is a theme that is as relevant now as when the play was written.
Director Cromer is superb as the stage manager who tells the story and moves it along by occasionally interacting with it. The staging is loyal to the script and masterfully adapted to the basement confines of Chopin Theatre. Jennifer Grace and Ian Westerfer are charming as the young sweethearts. They play the innocence and youth of young love to perfection, but they rip hearts in the moving final act. Lori Meyers and Donna Jay Fulks are the two every-good-moms who walk through life with reliable dads John Byrnes and Tim Curtis. The rest of the town is populated by a sizeable cast that includes first rate performances from milkman Howie Newsom (James Lusk), paper boy Joe Crowell, Jr. (Brian Hinkle), town chatterbox Mrs. Soames (Rosalind Hurwitz), and imbibing choir director Simon Stimson (Chris Ligon). Cromer deserves huge credit for this production because while the actors are individually wonderful, it is the genuine chemistry between them that transports the audience back into a real American small town.
The-hypocrites’ Our Town is one of the most powerful dramatic shows in town and a must see for theatre lovers. It is a remount of a previous successful production and has been playing to packed houses at Chopin. Get your tickets now because you do not want to miss Our Town and time is running out.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Randy Hardwick
randyontheglobe@yahoo.com for comments
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2008
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