Our Town

David Cromer in OUR TOWN

After opening in February 2009 to terrific reviews, I finally made it to David Cromer’s production of OUR TOWN, Off Broadway at the black box space known as the Barrow Street Theater.  Mr. Comer himself starred as the Stage Manager, but now he was replaced by Jason Butler Harner.  Some of the older male characters had turned over as well, but most of the original cast was still in place for October 2009.  Mr. Cromer originated this production in Chicago (a lot of great stuff seems to come out of Chicago and move to Broadway––it’s like a closer version of London’s West End in that way), and is now submerged in staging two Neil Simon plays at the same time: BRIGHTEN BEACH and BROADWAY BOUND, which marks his Broadway debut.  This is a busy director who is rising to prominence quickly.  That said, I expected more from this production––at least a top notch cast.  This cast was only passable.  Many of my favorite lines that usually strike an emotional chord in me were passed over or tossed off.  There was an attempt to say the colloquial and musical dialect of New Hampshire in a contemporary way.  Likewise, the early twentieth century costuming was dropped for modern clothing and this jarred with the text.  Modern, suburban looking families were talking like they were in LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE and referencing ways of life, finances and activities that could only be happening in 1906.  So, the concept was to pare down and contemporize the already pared down show to rehearsal level.  The props have always been pantomimed as they were here, but nearly all lighting effects were dropped for a general wash of light throughout the house and all the prerecorded sounds of roosters, horse and buggies and train whistles were dropped––even when the Stage Manager asked us to listen for them.  Yes, we were asked to use our imagination even more than usual and after twenty minutes of being irritated by this novelty, I accepted it and just enjoyed the play.  

The fact remains that OUR TOWN is an American Treasure and one can go back to it over and over again and be moved.  This beautiful play contains stunning observations about the every day life we live, even today, and it doesn’t require modern dress to bring us to that realization.  However, Mr. Cromer’s contemporary, no flourishes concept turned out to be a set up for a very striking final sequence.  When Emily goes back to earth to relive her twelfth birthday, suddenly her childhood home is revealed from behind a curtain to be completely realized.  Mother Webb is cooking real bacon on the stove and real coffee is brewing––the delicious smells wafting through the theater.  The milk man comes by with real milk bottles and the 1906 kitchen is recreated in every detail.  When Emily (Jennifer Grace) really sees life clearly for the first time she says, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?  ––every, every minute?” she is astounded by how real every detail is.  This is a lovely design flourish and an effective device, but the sad thing is that in the past, a good actress playing Emily was able to paint the clarity of her picture of life with her voice.  A good Emily could make us see everything just by the emotions she feels as she relates her observations.  Jennifer Grace might not have been able to do it without the spectacle of the realistic set.  Thorton Wilder’s words go a long way to taking care of less than stellar performances though.  If you just say the lines as written, and there is an attempt at sincerity in the line readings, the play will work.  I was not as emotional during this particular performance as I have been in the past, but as I rode home on the subway, I kept thinking about the play and I felt a nearly uncontrollable urge to break down and sob come over me.  I took deep breathes and got my mind off the play by pulling out a book to read.  In the end, the darn play effected me all the same and I have seen half a dozen productions.  I never get tired of revisiting OUT TOWN.