BWW Reviews: OUR TOWN Extends Thru April 25 at Everyman Theatre

I have to admit I am a card-carrying member of the "I Hate Our Town" club. I was not  terribly thrilled to see its current incarnation at the Everyman Theatre.  But when I saw that actor Wil Love would be playing the Stage Manager, it peaked my interest.

I'm also a card-carrying member of the "I love Wil Love" fan club. Ever since I saw him perform at Center Stage in Irma  Vep, I've been hooked.  What a treat he is now ensconced often on the Everyman stage.

Well, if you have ever seen Our Town, you may have thought how boring it was. I've seen it numerous times and was always bored. I certainly wasn't bored during this production directed by Donald Hicken.

The reason could be I'm a little bit older now.  But I truly believe it was the direction of Hicken and a wonderful cast which included a number of Hicken's students from the Baltimore School for the Arts where he is head of their theater department. Students also helped to build the sets and worked on the lighting. What a great experience this must have been for these students.

Thornton Wilder received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938 for this play which as three acts: Act I deals with the Simple Daily Life in the small New Hampshire town of Grover's Corners. Act II concerns Love and Marriage between two young people in the town. Act III concerns Death and Eternity when those who have passed away can return as ghosts to view what goes on after their passing.

The highlight of the evening was the wonderful scene at the drug store when George (Matthew Schleigh) falls in love with his high school friend and neighbor Emily (Julia Proctor). It's a riveting scene played by two promising young actors.

It was great to see such a diverse cast on stage. I only wish they all had mastered the New England accent a bit more necessary for the play.

Music also plays a pivital part. Hicken chose Aaron Copeland's wonderful "Appalachian Spring" as his soundtrack. This certainly helps the set the mood of the piece.  According tothe  informative program and the piece by Dramaturg Naomi Greenberg-Slovin, Wilder was a friend of Copeland as well as such luminaries as Sigmund Freud, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Alfred Hitchcock, and Leonard Bernstein.

I applaud the Everyman Theatre for extending the run until April 25. This gives theater fans more of an opportunity to see this terrific production.  I wonder how many noticed that the old  paper towel holder in the rest room even comes from Berlin, New Hampshire.

For tickets, call 410-752-2208 or visit www.everymantheatre.org.

The final production of the year will be the Baltimore premiere of Blackbird by David Harrower featuring Everyman Resident Company Member and Carver School of the Arts and Technology graduate, Megan Anderson running from May 12 to June 13.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

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