How well do you know Thornton Wilder's iconic play, Our Town? Test your knowledge of this classic American drama that explores life, love, and loss in the small fictional town of Grover's Corners. Using minimal sets and a unique metatheatrical approach, Wilder emphasizes the beauty in everyday life, earning the play its enduring legacy and a Pulitzer Prize. Dive into the world of Our Town and see how many surprising facts you can recall!
Adaptations
- The 2003 television film adaptation of Our Town had Paul Newman as the Stage Manager and was shown on PBS and Showtime.
- In the 1940 film adaptation of Our Town, four members of the original cast reprised their roles, but the film featured an altered ending where Emily lived.
- A revival of 'Our Town', directed by Kenny Leon and starring Jim Parsons as Stage Manager, is scheduled opened on Broadway in the fall of 2024.
Musical Composition
- The play Our Town had a balletic adaptation choreographed by Philip Jerry in 1994, set to the music of Aaron Copland.
- A 1987 musical adaptation titled Grover's Corners featured music and lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt.
- The song 'Love and Marriage' was written for the 1955 musical television adaptation of Our Town.
- Thornton Wilder employed a metatheatrical style in 'Our Town', using the Stage Manager to break the fourth wall and interact directly with the audience.
- Aaron Copland composed the original music score for the 1940 film adaptation of Our Town.
Production Facts
- Deaf West Theater's 2017 production of 'Our Town' featured performances in both American Sign Language and spoken English.
- OT: Our Town, a 2002 documentary, explores a high school production of the play in Compton, California.
- The 1955 live musical television adaptation of Our Town on Producers' Showcase was the first and only musical version of the play to be telecast.
- The Ford 50th Anniversary Show in 1953, which included a scene from Our Town, was broadcast live on both CBS and NBC, attracting 60 million viewers.
- Thornton Wilder himself played the Stage Manager in a 1946 radio adaptation of Our Town broadcast on Theatre Guild on the Air.
- Our Town was first performed on radio on May 12, 1939, on The Campbell Playhouse with Orson Welles playing the role of the Stage Manager.
- Thornton Wilder wrote 'Our Town' in 1938, it is a three-act play that explores the lives of people in the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913.
- The Barrow Street Theatre in New York City hosted the longest-running production of 'Our Town', with a total of 644 regular performances.
- Paul Newman delivered his final stage performance as the Stage Manager in a 2003 production of 'Our Town' at New York City's Booth Theatre.
- Thornton Wilder received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938 for 'Our Town'.
- 'Our Town' premiered at McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 22, 1938.
- 'Our Town' was staged with minimal props and scenery, which Thornton Wilder believed helped restore significance to the small details of life.
- In 'Our Town', the fictional setting of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire is introduced by the Stage Manager with specific coordinates that actually point to waters off the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts.
- Wilder drafted the entire third act of 'Our Town' in one day during a visit to Zürich in 1937 after a long evening walk.
- Thornton Wilder began making notes for 'Our Town' while teaching and lecturing in Chicago during the 1930s.
- The story of 'Our Town' is divided into three acts, named 'Daily Life', 'Love and Marriage', and 'Death and Eternity'.
- The play uses metatheatrical devices, including the stage manager of the play as the main character who interacts directly with the audience.
- Edward Albee described 'Our Town' as 'the greatest American play ever written'.
