VIDEO: Ann Harada, Marc delaCruz, Anthony Lee Medina, and More Perform Monologue From OUR TOWN

their town. OUR town from Olivia REELS on Vimeo.

Olivia Oguma has created a new video featuring performers reciting a monologue from Our Town, titled "their town. OUR town."

The video was conceived, edited and directed by Olivia Oguma, featuring music by Cody Owen Stine. The monologue is by Thornton Wilder.

The video features Marc delaCruz, Annie Henk, Kaliswa Brewster, Ann Harada, James Seol, Brynn Williams, Mirirai Sithole, Mia Katigbak, Kaaron Briscoe, Don Nguyen, Olivia Oguma, Anthony Lee Medina, Jo Mei, Austin Ku, Bruce Locke, Jason C. Brown, Ashley Bryant, Thom Sesma, Sade Namei, Wi-Moto Nyoka, Rodney To, Christopher Oscar Peña, Tina Chilip, Emma Ramos, Michael Genet, Nandita Shenoy, Brooke Ishibashi, Kate Rigg, Andres Munar, and James Yaegashi.

Ogume provided the following context for the video:

"A week ago I found myself reading about a revival of a very well-known play announced for a post-Covid 2021 Broadway season. I came to realize, that a lot of my hurt and frustration regarding the revival, the casting, and the optics of the theater institution has to do with simply not seeing myself represented on stage. Specifically, in the context of classic plays that explore what it truly means to be an American.

I started complaining on Facebook (as per usual--my go-to-way to express my anger and frustration during this quarantine), I wondered- do the people in charge really see us?

And then I had a realization: THIS is the time where I need to take all that anger and frustration and use it to create something meaningful.

I wanted to create something that celebrates our connection to one another. I wanted to create something that said, people of color deserve to be a part of this conversation...we deserve to be sitting at this table. I wanted to create something that simply said: We see you, do you see us?

So, with one week, limited funds, and the contacts in my iPhone, I made this.

It is not perfect. But, it is real. And it reflects the world I see every day.

If I can sit in my studio apartment during a pandemic--with limited time and resources--and put together a piece of art showcasing the talents of all these people of color who have a voice to share, imagine what someone in a position of power--with all the time and resources of a Broadway production--could do?

We are in agreement that there are new stories and playwrights that need to be explored but--If we must revisit American classics, can they not be done in a way that is reflective of all Americans today?

So, why not reshape it? Redefine it. Restructure it.

We see you. See us.
We are the town.

With that being said, please enjoy my short film project:

their town. OUR town."

watch!

Our Town is a 1938 three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens.

Throughout, Wilder uses metatheatrical devices, setting the play in the actual theatre where it is being performed. The main character is the stage manager of the theatre who directly addresses the audience, brings in guest lecturers, fields questions from the audience, and fills in playing some of the roles.

Our Town was first performed at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey in 1938. It later went on to success on Broadway and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It remains popular today and revivals are frequent.

The last Broadway revival of Our Town starred Paul Newman, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella, and Jayne Atkinson. The production was filmed, and aired on both PBS and Showtime.

BroadwayWorld recently reported on a rumor that producer Scott Rudin has plans to bring Thornton Wilder's play back to Broadway for the first time since 2002. Rudin has tapped Tony winner Bartlett Sher (To Kill a Mockingbird) to direct the play, which will be led by Dustin Hoffman, who last appeared on Broadway in 1990. A timeline for the production remains unknown.