Hearken back with me, if you will, to the halcyon days of our collective past… the days when we all passed through the comparative idyll of high school or college. It matters not our age, or the particular years we attended school – somewhere during our educational careers, we almost certainly took a course in some kind in American Literature; and we very likely studied Our Town, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about life and death in small-town America at the dawn of the twentieth century.
My first exposure to Our Town came during my freshman year in college. I remember those sultry spring days very well. I was in the midst of a required survey course in American Literature, sitting in a hot, sticky classroom (right after lunch, of course!) filled with not-so-eager young minds… all of us listening to our 70-something year old professor drone on and on and on about the “deeper meaning” of Wilder’s dramatic masterpiece. (Wilder is the only writer to win a Pulitzer Prize in both drama and fiction.) I recall being… well… pretty much underwhelmed by the play… as were many of my classmates. A few students, sitting in the front of the classroom, hung on every word uttered by our professor. They continually chirped cheery responses to her every question and comment. Meanwhile, in the back row, I would yawn and scribble notes about the day’s lecture with a cool detachment born of sheer monotony.
Fast-forward now to July 2006. Our local community theater group had decided to perform Our Town, and I auditioned for a part. To my surprise and delight, I had been offered the leading role of the “Stage Manager.”Because this particular character keeps things pretty much in perspective throughout the play, it was especially important for me to seek a greater understanding of the play as a whole. As I memorized my lines and delved into the deeper meaning behind Wilder’s hauntingly eloquent words, I came to a deep appreciation for Our Town, both as a work of literature and as a dramatic representation of small-town American life.
Our Town is a three-act play that examines life in a fictional New England small town at the beginning of the twentieth century. Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire – “just over the line from Massachusetts” – nestles snugly in the shadow of Mount Monadnock in southeastern New Hampshire. It’s a typical small town, made up of ordinary citizens from all walks of life, all of whom are imbued with traditional early twentieth century values. The play centers on two prominent middle-class Grover’s Corners families: the Gibbses and Webbs. Frank Gibbs is the town’s doctor, and Charles Webb is the editor of the Grover’s Corners Sentinel, the town’s local newspaper. The Gibbses and Webbs are next-door neighbors; Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb, both homemakers, are good friends. Both families have two children; in each family, one of the children is of about high school age, and the other is of elementary school age.
Act I introduces us to the citizens of Grover’s Corners. It’s spring 1901. We learn some key facts about the town, about the Gibbses and Webbs, and how those families interact with the town as a whole. We come to appreciate the calm, unhurried pace of life at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is a time when… “…nobody locks their doors at night,” and “dogs sleep in the middle of Main Street all day without anyone comin’ to disturb ’em…” A time long before American innocence and idealism were sacrificed on the altar of cynicism and fear…
Act II is a love story. “Three years have gone by… it’s 1904…” On the surface, very little has changed in Grover’s Corners. Life still ambles slowly by, but “…nature has been pushin’ and contrivin’ in many ways…” Here we witness the blossoming relationship between Emily Webb and George Gibbs, the oldest child in each of our families. Innocent conversations across backyards by moonlight, and in the soda fountain of the local drug store, cannot mask the deepening affections between Emily and George. The cycle of life continues, culminating in George and Emily’s wedding.
Act III brings our cycle of life full-circle. Nine more years have elapsed. Subtle but significant changes have taken root in Grover’s Corners, as the pace of life quickens. Here, on the eve of “the war to end all wars,” “…Horses are gettin’ rarer; farmers comin’ into town now in Fords. Everybody’s lockin’ their house doors at night now…” Death continues its eternal, inexorable process of perpetuating the life-cycle by robbing Grover’s Corners of some of the people we’ve met and loved…
Our Town is a work that’s highly literate while at the same time simple, folksy, and down-to-earth. It’s deeply philosophical, but it doesn’t preach. It depicts humanity’s “cycle of life…” “our growing up, our marrying, our living, and our dying…” but avoids the twin literary sins of being syrupy on the one hand and maudlin on the other. It uses highly innovative, even boldly original (for its time), dramatic devices to convey its message.
One major reason why Our Town is so enjoyable is the manner in which Thornton Wilder presents the town of Grover’s Corners and its citizens. Wilder employed a set of highly innovative dramatic devices that encourage audiences to participate in the life of Grover’s Corners by using their imaginations to the fullest. One of the first things audiences will notice is that there is almost no scenery on the stage, and very few props in the hands of actors. There are a few tables, chairs, and benches, and a couple of ladders, but no “flats” or “backdrops.” Actors pantomime many of their actions on stage, eating imaginary meals from illusory dishes, reading make-believe books and newspapers, and delivering fanciful bottles of milk.
Another innovative dramatic device is the “Stage Manager.” This is definitely not your typical on-stage character!! The “Stage Manager” serves primarily as the story’s narrator, setting the stage for each act in a variety of ways, usually with folksy, down-to-earth monologues. The “Stage Manager” can be described as part sage, part philosopher, and part oracle. With a wave of his hand, he can transport our audience and the play’s other characters to places where they can see and gain a greater understanding of where they have been and where they are going.
Our Town comes as close to being a “perfect” play as I’ve ever read. Wilder’s realistic depiction of small town life is simply masterful. In Acts I and II, the characters and situations are so believable that you’ll find yourself becoming totally immersed in the daily events that take place in the lives of the Gibbses and Webbs and Howie Newsome and Mrs. Soames and the Crowell brothers and all the other citizens of Grover’s Corners. How easy it is to identify with the experiences and conversations we see on stage! We see before us the ordinariness of our daily lives transformed into a message of hope… that someday, the “eternal in us will come out – clear.”
Act III moves beyond simple storytelling and into the realm of the fanciful and philosophical. This act may be bit harder to follow – and swallow – but it is here that Wilder’s inspirational message of hope shines through. Here is where the human soul is challenged and then uplifted. Our challenge: to look beyond the narrow confines of our often humdrum existence, with its petty ambitions and pleasures and pain, and see that our lives extend into eternity. That is the essence of Thornton Wilder’s message.
The beauty of Our Town lies in the timelessness of its message. Yes, the fictional events in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire occurred just about 100 years ago, long before the worst wars in the history of humankind ravaged our planet, and long before terrorists struck at the heart of our nation. Our Town is set at the dawn of another less fearful, less daunting, less anxiety-producing age. Yet… how much has really changed in the past 100 years? As Wilder points out, the cycle of life is never-ending and seldom-changing. We are all born; we all grow up; most of us marry… and we all die. These are the central truths of human existence. Our challenge is to understand and accept them and another central truth as well – one that “…all the greatest people who ever lived have been tellin’ us for five thousand years…
“There’s something way down deep that’s eternal in every human being.”
