Tympanic Theater Company Blog

Our Town Flyer

Our Town is a theater staple. From amateur to professional, from Broadway to Main St theater goers around the world have seen Our Town in some form (or maybe even the 2003 Paul Newman movie) so it's definitely a rite of passage. That said, this review's will be a bit different, since I'm a neophyte to the Wilder play. I have no reference points, only what I've seen for the very first time – and what I've seen worked wonderfully.

For the uninitiated (which I'll assume is a small majority) Our Town chronicles life at Grover's Corners (a fictional village in NH) at the turn of the 19th century. But, there's no period costumes to be found. Instead the kids wear Converse and the Stage Manager (more on this in a bit) checks his cell phone when mentioning times the train arrives or when school ends. By contemporarizing the visual elements, it re-emphasizes this play doesn't have to take place in 1901, and that the relationships (and subsequent concerns) within are as fresh now as they were in 1938. From what I've heard, previous Our Town productions have come off as dated and kind of folksy – luckily this production doesn't suffer from that. After all, a paper boy with a Jansport messenger bag and a tilted knit cap really throws the "folksy" out the window, doesn't it?

The most interesting part of the production isn't the integrated Nokia phones, it's the integrated audience. By making the front rows integral to the 'set' design, it forces an intimacy to the space that makes you feel like you're leaning on the icebox in Doc Gibb's house whilst he scolds his son. This production benefits immensely from this staging and is the driver behind it's success. Had this been a typical proscenium setup, it still would have been a great show, but likely had stayed in Chicago. That’s not to say the performances aren’t solid – for the most part, they are. But again, this is Our Town. It’s done and redone and re-redone. But, Cromer’s reimagining really makes it feel fresh and new.

For the first couple years of our inception, Tympanic’s mission statement was to reinvent the way space is used in modern theater – and with our first productions (Splintered Crosses, House of Weird Death & Gregor and the Squonk), we absolutely did. As soon as you entered the lobby, you’d get the sense that you were experiencing something vibrant and new, and we definitely blurred the lines (and expectations) of when the show “starts”. It was great, and audience reaction was pretty positive. Cromer’s interpretation of Our Town takes our initial goal one step further. By staging the play in a much more intimate setting, you can’t help but feel you’re on the precipice of “this is how theater should be done”.  Factor in that he’s using Our Town, with it’s obvious conceits to the Stage Manager and the mimed props and bare stage, and you can’t help but think Thorton Wilder smiles every time the Stage Manager silently holds up his cell phone to remind people about their own.