The UT Martin Department of Visual and Theatre Arts and Vanguard ran its production of the classic 1938 Thornton Wilder play Our Town from Oct. 6 to Oct. 9, at the Harriet Fulton Theatre in the Fine Arts Building.
The three-act play chronicles the everyday and interconnected lives of a group of citizens in an insular New Hampshire town from 1901 to 1913, mainly the burgeoning young romance between the precocious Emily Webb (Carlin Cochran) and sweet yet dim George Gibbs (Eli Davidson), whose relationship may not be ultimately fulfilling outside the dictates of outdated tradition. The initial two parts are a subtle and searing portrait of archaic societal roles, domestic turmoil and familial dynamics, and the final chapter expands into a more metaphysical space for a wrenching treatise on life itself.
Vanguard’s production, under the assured direction of Melanie Hollis, deftly captures both the intimate emotional interplay of the characters and a more expansive thematic scope, weaving these two seemingly disparate elements together in perfect harmony for a stimulating time capsule on old American life.
The essence of this lies in the power of Wilder’s original text and Vanguard’s evocative interpretation. Barring one exception, the aesthetic design is minimal, but through immersive theatrics, the atmosphere of this small town is nonetheless palpable. Rustic chairs, tables, costumes and select other items provide era-specific touchstones for the setting, and the lighting delicately illuminates the stage for a thoughtfully rendered looking glass back in time. The cast sat in two rows of seats sectioned off toward the back of the stage until they participated in the action of the play in the front, which almost registered as a quaint tableau, a bygone roster of distinctive characters, with a tinge of tragedy evoking their confinement.
You can practically feel the dust and cobwebs of a desolate landscape, which only accentuates the tragic plight of those yearning to escape. The blocking for each performer to move about the stage and dramatically fill in this inherent emptiness was excellent, but the standout visual choice is definitely the two parallel facing ladders that our guileless young lovers perch themselves atop of as they flirt and gaze toward the stars, representing that classic image of adolescents talking through neighboring windows. The performative precision of Cochran and Davidson as they stood on these symbolic towers was honestly astonishing.
The play, which is laden with long and subdued dialogue sequences, could come off as stuffy without the proper execution, but in tandem with the visual conceptualization of the material, the talented ensemble keeps it utterly alive, making it richly melancholic, wistful and even humorous on occasion. Emmie Porter’s portrayal of the stage manager, who breaks the fourth wall and narrates the entire affair, is particularly thrilling, taking extended exposition and making it gripping and electric.
Cochran and Davidson have lovely chemistry and take you on a journey from their characters’ endearing puppy love to the strain of conformity between more full-bodied adults, and the former has a strikingly poignant monologue toward the end. The quartet of thespians who portray the children’s parents, Kat Walker (Mrs. Gibbs), Paul Watkins (Doc Gibbs), Lymonte Thomas (Mr. Webb) and Mckayla Sims (Mrs. Webb), are all beautifully stern and tender.
In a time of radical social progression, why regress so deeply into the past? Vanguard’s marvelous production of Our Town makes a compelling case, excavating universal human truths on purpose, identity and existence itself that undeniably reverberate into today. It’s a surprisingly timely cautionary tale on life’s finite bounds and the arbitrary societal constructs that often dominate it, the firmly planted seeds of history that stem into now, and with the play’s sage guidance, how we can possibly grapple with and mitigate those harsh realities.
Photo Credit / UTM Department of Visual and Theatre Arts
