Theater at Monmouth's OUR TOWN Opens Tonight

Season 44 continues at Theater at Monmouth with Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Our Town, starting tonight, July 18. Our Town presents a timeless tale of everyday life in the fictional Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. Teenagers George and Emily meet, fall in love, and marry; enduring both the joys and sorrows of everyday life. Wilder transforms their ordinary story into a poignant and captivating exploration of mortality and the wonder of living.

Through permission of the Wilder estate, Theater at Monmouth's production is a part of the national celebration, which also includes readings and special performances in New York and Washington, D.C. In his recent foreword to Our Town, playwright Donald Margulies writes, "Indeed the play's success across cultural borders around the world attests to its being something much greater than an American play: it is a play that captures the universal experience of being alive."

When Our Town was first performed, America was experiencing the aftershocks of the Great Depression and living under the impending shadow of World War II. Although uncertain times and fear characterized the time period, Wilder focuses the play on the facets of the human experience which testify to the strength and endurance of the human spirit. The New York Times hailed the play as "beautifully evocative," and named it "one of the finest achievements of the current stage." Our Town cemented its place in history when Wilder was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938.

For director Davis Robinson, Our Town's New England setting and its message about everyday life make it an especially relevant piece for TAM audiences. "Each visit to Grover's Corners reveals some new facet," says Robinson. And while you may have seen it before or been in it in high school, Wilder himself points out that "I Love You" and "I Suffer" have been said many billions of times, and never twice the same. Robinson hopes audiences will "see it again, for this first time."

Our Town includes resident company member Mark S. Cartier as the Stage Manager who leads audiences on their journey through Grover's Corners; Hannah Daly as Emily Webb; Luke Couzens as George Gibbs; Ambien Mitchell as Mrs. Webb; Mike Anthony as Editor Webb; Grace Bauer as Mrs. Gibbs; and James Noel Hoban as Doctor Gibbs. Other cast members include Josh Carpenter, Alexander Harvey, Aislinn Kerchaert, Simon Kiser, Frank Omar, Ryan Simpson, Janis Stevens, Bill Van Horn, and Max Waszak. Set design by James Alexander, costumes by Heather Carey, lights by Lynne Chase, and sound by Rew Tippin.

Performance Calendar: PREVIEW 7/18 at 7:30 p.m.; OPENING 7/19 at 7:30 p.m.; Evening performance dates are 7/19, 7/24, 8/7, 8/9, and 8/17 at 7:30 p.m., and 8/4 at 7:00 p.m., followed by a post-show talkback. Matinee performances are 7/21, 7/27, 7/31, and 8/16 at 1:00 p.m. Ticket prices range from $10-$30. For calendar and reservations, contact the TAM Box Office at 207.933.9999 or visit www.theateratmonmouth.org.

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