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Deemed “the finest American play ever written” by renowned American playwright Edward Albee, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1938 play “Our Town” has cemented its place in history. Living up to the play’s esteemed reputation, Lyric Stage Boston stole hearts with its modern yet deferential revitalization of the timeless work, directed by Courtney O’Connor.
The play is split into three acts: Daily Life, Love and Marriage, Death and Eternity. In these acts, the audience follows two families, the Gibbs and the Webbs, as they struggle to navigate the complexities of life in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire.
A central presence in the production was the stage manager (Will McGarrahan), who took on a metatheatrical role in the story itself. McGarrahan delivered a pre-show message to turn off all cellular devices and follow other conventional theater etiquette. Quickly defying expectations, he paused before leaving the stage to declare: “This play is called ‘Our Town.’”
Though the play has been reimagined numerous times, McGarrahan brought an electrifying dynamic to the role of the stage manager and drummed up anticipation every time he reappeared to introduce a new scene.
Some of McGarrahan’s memorable moments included his random interruptions of the cast to cut to the next scene, delivered with a mischievous, commanding voice. Another notable feature was his accent, which sounded like a mix of a transatlantic accent and a Southern drawl. Combining this with the twinkle in his eye, McGarrahan truly tied the production’s simplistic charm together with his riveting narration.
McGarrahan also played soda shop owner Mr. Morgan, as well as a clergyman. His role as stage manager is written to integrate these two parts well, and Lyric Stage’s production executed this perfectly. McGarrahan seamlessly transitioned between roles as he facilitated the relationship, in different moments, between the protagonists — George Gibbs (Dan Garcia) and Emily Webb (Josephine Moshiri Elwood) — whose romance anchors the plot.
Elwood, meanwhile, masterfully depicted a wide range of emotions throughout the production. Her emotional outburst in the third act when she accepts her death inspired incredible pathos — her tears capturing raw sorrow in a captivating climax.
The casting brought much to the table. The cast was racially diverse in contrast to the all-white cast of the original production, allowing the show to speak to a broader audience. Moreover, the actors’ ages varied, which has not necessarily been the case in other productions. An unforgettable performance was delivered by Kathy St. George, whose many roles included an elderly woman in the town and George’s little sister Rebecca. Her childish mannerisms convey the latter’s age effectively while providing extra comedic relief.
“Our Town” is a show known for its simplicity. As such, the production featured no props or even curtains. The audience had to visualize what was going on as the cast mimed different actions; some noticeable examples include stringing beans, drinking a milkshake, and herding a cow. The actors’ vivid mannerisms made it feel as if the props were actually there.
O’Connor’s blocking choices took full advantage of the theater’s black box setup to authentically portray a small-town environment. To represent characters moving locations, actors utilized staircases positioned throughout the house. For instance, the Gibbs and Webb children used staircases running through the aisles to rush in and out of their homes and head to school. With people constantly moving to and fro, such an immersive set helped capture the hustle and bustle of a busy town.
With this production of “Our Town,” Lyric Stage celebrated the range of its repertoire and carved out its own claim to the iconic American play. The talent of Lyric Stage shined through its excellent execution of a timeless show, whose simplicity allowed for free creative rein.
“Our Town” ran at Lyric Stage from Sep. 19 to Oct. 19.
—Staff writer Anmol K. Grewal can be reached at anmol.grewal@thecrimson.com.
