Our Town at Riverside Theatre Works made me cry. So, if you are one of the few people on the planet that don’t know the basic premise of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, please stop reading this review and purchase your tickets for Riverside Theatre Works’ production, which is only open for a couple more weeks.

Yes, Our Town ends sadly and they both die at the end of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. If you were previously unaware of these two theatrical facts – run to see Our Town. If you, like me, are familiar with the play and have a fond affection for its message and place in American theatre history, you should probably still go see this production. However, if you are one that prefers your theatre as written, you may not choose to view this production. You might think it’s too long, you might not prefer some of the acting choices, and you might wonder what Wilder would think of it.

I read the programs at shows, though I’ve heard that many patrons do not. I read all of the producer’s notes, the director’s notes, and I even scan the donors’ list to see where a particular theatre is getting their cash – it’s surprisingly interesting! I recommend that you take some time to read as much of the program as you can before the house lights dim – instead of  just skimming the bios and looking for the scene breakdown. You learn interesting facts with which to frame your viewing of the play. I, for example, learned that Our Town’s director Jason E. Weber had Jerzy Grotowski, the famous Polish director, in mind throughout his process of creating Our Town. This put me off. Though Grotowski, like Thornton Wilder, explored the creation of theatre without the added spectacle of props and elaborate set design – the two dramatists are very different.

Jerzy Grotowski believed in blurring the line between the actor and the character – that the two become one in the act of rehearsal, and then they merge again with the spectator in the act of performance.  I don’t find that Our Town requires or even hints at this acting style. Yes, Our Town creates a play-within-a-play, and director Weber accurately questions the title Our Town, writing that, “Our Town means it’s your town, too,” he seems to over-lay an acting style onto this timeless, shared story that made me wish for an even simpler performance of this simple play.

Wilder’s Our Town is timeless, it is universal, and it is the Every Man of every American town. Our Town “is performed at least once each day somewhere in this country.” The text is deeply moving in its simplicity and in its truth. To overlay a strong acting style, or an even stronger director’s hand on top of the heavy stage direction dictated by playwright Thornton Wilder in the text, is unnecessary.  The most successful moments of Weber’s play are when he allows the actors to deliver the text in an unfettered, undiluted manner. There are many of these moments in the production, which make it an overall success.

Performances by Megan Cooper as Emily Webb and David Rogers as George Gibbs are spot on and just lovely.  They had me crying at the beginning of the soda shop scene with the realistic, wholesome depiction of their childhood love growing up.  Ms. Cooper as Emily is naturally emotive and articulate, showing perfect casting to this perfect role.  David Rogers as George is lanky, somewhat spastic in his movement, and wide-eyed while conveying George’s fear of growing up, of confessing his love for Emily, and even when speaking with his mother briefly before the wedding. He showed the audience the true youth of this character in his adult circumstance.

William Bloomfield, playing the part of the Stage Manager, was captivating. His every movement served a purpose, whether featured in a scene or not. The director made a wise choice to light him throughout the production, no doubt making for a hard night’s work for this veteran actor – but it was worth every moment. Bloomfield led us through this town – our town – with an ease and belief that he had done it all before, and would do it all again tomorrow. These three performances held the piece in its integrity, despite some directorial choices that may captivate, though they do not truly serve.

-Mary ElizaBeth Peters