By Marilyn Jozwik
It might seem as though Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” set in the early part of the previous century, has little relevance to today.
However, the show, LCP’s summer production, feels even more relevant today.
Director Sandra Renick has taken great care with the classic and has elicited emotional, at times humorous, performances filled with humanity and passion. The diverse cast also reflects communities of today, even though the fictional town of Wilder’s play was quite a homogeneous group in many ways.
Perhaps the highlight of the well-known show is the finale, in which Emily Webb (Sarah Jo Martens) goes back in time to her home in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, in 1899 when she is just 12 years old. She has only that one day from her past to experience. Martens takes Wilder’s beautiful prose and pours so much emotion into it as she bemoans, “I can’t look at everything hard enough!” She sees her busy family and realizes how precious time is as she screams, “Time goes so fast we never look at one another!” She adds, “Do human beings even realize life as they live it?” Martens is at her best here, as the spotlight reveals a whole host of emotions on her expressive face.
It is an incredibly poignant scene in a play filled with simple wisdom, truths, laughter and tears that the whole cast presents beautifully.
Simon Stimson (Talen Marshall), center, is questioned by Constable Warren (Ralph Netzel) and Mr. Webb (Dave Somerscales). Emily Webb (Sarah Jo Martens), right, and George and Rebecca Gibbs (Brian Maxwell and Evie Maasen) watch the night sky from their homes.
Dick Natrop gives a wonderful performance as the Stage Manager, describing life in the small town with ease and likeability, letting a thought marinade effectively, as when he points out where all the churches are in town. When he gets to the Baptist church he says, it’s “Down in the holler, by the river.” He pauses just the right amount of time to let the significance of that sink in.
As the Stage Manager, Natrop speaks in a conversational tone – like he’s talking to a neighbor. Natrop has the perfect weathered look for the role – like he’s just stepped out of the farm field or workshop -- and a folksy believability. As the Stage Manager, he dismisses the town’s lack of culture, saying townsfolk enjoy “pleasures of a kind,” such as the sun coming up, birds singing and the change of seasons.
He explains the three acts of the play, which opens in 1901 and reflects “daily life” in Grover’s Corners. One-thousand days later is Act 2 and a “love and marriage” theme. Finally, it’s nine years later – 1913 – and the town has undergone significant changes.
The Gibbs family, front row from left, Emily (Evie Maasen), Mrs. Gibbs (Paula Nordwig) and Dr. Gibbs (Mack Bates) watch their son George marry Emily Webb along with other townspeople.
On the surface, it all seems very ordinary, until Wilder begins to make the audience realize just how extraordinary life is – and how fleeting.
The centerpiece of the show is the sweet relationship between George Gibbs (Brian Maxwell) and Emily Webb (Martens) as they navigate courtship, marriage and life’s trials and tribulations, along with their family’s and townsfolks.’ Maxwell is totally engaging as the young tender-hearted George, whose life ambition is to be a farmer. The heart-wrenching emotions he pours out in the waning moments of the play put a cherry on a first-rate performance
The Gibbs and Webb families are nicely portrayed, with marvelous performances by Mack Bates and Paula Nordwig as Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs – the town’s physician and wife -- and Angelique Tober and Dave Somerscales as Mr. and Mrs. Webb – the town’s newspaperman and wife. I especially enjoyed Nordwig’s character with her New England accent and stoic, chilling demeanor in the final act.
The staging of this play is wonderfully understated. There is a peacefulness and stillness, as if the entire cast was told to treat the Wilder classic with dignity and respect. The few props are moved imperceptibly and characters move quietly, with no wasted motion. Miming takes the place of props as characters pour coffee, deliver milk and newspapers, string beans and perform other daily tasks. So effective are the motions that you can almost swear you see the coffee cups. The gentle, well-timed sounds of falling rain, singing birds, horse whinnies and train whistles also help create the setting, while tight lighting illuminates all the nuanced emotions. Breanne Brennan handled sound and light design, while Lori Albers was the stage manager and Christ Celestin the set designer.
This is a large cast of 26, with all performers giving each character something special and unique. Elizabeth Markman provides a splash of color to the show with her excitable portrayal of opinionated Mrs. Soames, while Ali McCloud is an especially animated young paperboy and baseball player. James Marlega Jr. is a charming Howie Newsome, leading his imaginary horse around the stage as he delivers milk.
The town choir, led by Simon Stimson (Talen Marshall), provides some pleasant tunes of the times. Marshall’s Stimson, an alcoholic, is the sort of character that spotlights the ugly side of small-town life and the devastating effects of gossip and character assassination.
The play makes great use of the small space and with virtually no pauses in the action, keeping the show moving at a swift pace without feeling rushed. Which is a good thing since no one wants to miss the many nuggets of wisdom and life’s lessons Wilder tosses about like seeds in the wind.
IF YOU GO:
WHO: Lake Country Playhouse
WHAT: “Our Town”
WHEN: Through July 16
WHERE: Lake Country Playhouse, 221 E. Capitol Drive, Hartland
INFO: LakeCountryPlayhouseWI.org