Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Grand Canyon University’s theatre program, after a long, quiet summer, will present Thornton Wilder’s 1938 classic, “Our Town.” The play tells the everyday life stories of the Gibbs and Webb families, and through their stories, teaches the importance of finding beauty in the simplicity of life.
“This is a very intimate play because it’s about life in America during the turn of the century,” said Claude Pensis, director of the drama, which opens at 7:30 tonight on the Ethington Theatre stage for a two-weekend run. “It’s why it’s been translated and performed in other countries. What I hope the cast and the audience get out of this is a sense of purpose and community.”
The show is divided into three acts, each focusing on big life themes universally experienced.
Act 1 focuses on the characters' ordinary lives as they interact in their homes and carry out their daily activities in the fictional New Hampshire town of Grover’s Corners.
A budding romance between George Gibbs and Emily Webb leads to a wedding that's the center of the love and marriage theme of Act 2. The two go from being childhood friends and neighbors to each other’s first love and forever partners.
But all things come to an end, the focus of Act 3, which delves into the themes of death and eternity. The act takes place in a cemetery after a death in the family. Family members and friends who have died previously enter the picture as that character's spirit contemplates life.
“It may seem like this is just an old-fashioned play,” said Lydia Schroeder, who plays Emily Webb. “But it is so incredibly relevant today because it is about the universal human experience."
Schroeder said the play taught her that the ordinary moments we take for granted are these beautiful things we might not always have.
“I feel like Wilder is saying to everyone, ‘Look at what you have, enjoy these small moments no matter how small they may seem. They are bigger than you think because it’s the beauty in the ordinary.’”
The show’s unique attraction is the minimalist approach to stage scenery and properties.
Part of the audience is seated onstage in a circle, while the rest is in the middle seating section of the house. Wooden chairs and tables are primary props, with a rare use of ladders as imaginary windows in two-story homes.
The cast engages in imaginary movements, pretending to close and open doors, sit at tables and eat, cook in kitchens and more. The audience must rely on their imagination and paint the scenery for themselves, while acting and character development are the focus of the show.
“This minimalist approach is definitely new for me,” Heath Wiggins, who plays George Gibbs, said. “I get to eat with invisible food. The doors have been a big thing. You have to know where the doorknobs are and the way the doors swing. The show is very much just acting.
“I have never gone this much in depth in acting. It’s grown me to really get to know my character so I can portray him in the right way.”
With the show's emphasis on the importance of community and the cycle of life, student scenic designer Jami Kratz wanted the little bit of stage scenery to be infused with sentiment that complements the show’s valuable theme.
The stage is surrounded by hanging portraits of the cast and crew’s family members, starting with photos of babies and finishing with photos of older family, reflecting the cycle of life. Meanwhile, the stage floor is covered with black and white painted murals of more family members to represent the fleetingness of life.
“A big concept for the show is Ecclesiastes 3:20,” Kratz said. “We are all made from dust, and into dust we shall return. The show is very much about the fleetingness of life and the life cycle. I wanted to showcase that through the set, so the ground is supposed to emulate dust. These photos are of real people that God created.
“We have matching hanging portraits that emulates the life cycle in that there is a baby here and then a child, young adult, an older person and so on."
But ultimately, the show is all about people, Kratz said, "and what makes life is the people you are around.”
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected].
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IF YOU GO:
What: "Our Town"
Where: Ethington Theatre
When: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, with more shows coming up at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19-20 and 2 p.m. Sept. 21
Tickets: Click here
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