February 1, 2005

'Our Town' still a timeless evening

By Robert H. Miller
Tidings Reviewer

Thornton Wilder's classic American play "Our Town," first performed in 1939, may be about ordinary people - the Gibbs and the Webbs of Grover's Corners in New Hampshire in the early 1900s - but it is no ordinary play. As mounted by Oregon Stage Works in its A Street Market Place location in Ashland, it is a portrait of the past that is as endearing as it is enduring.

In no small measure, this is due to Doug Rowe, who is firmly in command as director and is masterly in his evocation of the stage manager, the narrator who pulls aside the curtain, so to speak, and takes us around the town, pointing out the landmarks and introducing us to some of the orderly folks who live there. It is a feast for the imagination, with no scenery (apart from a trellis); just chairs, stools, tables, benches, and a couple of step ladders. And the actors have no recourse but to mime and improvise.

Act One details the daily life, Act Two concerns love and marriage, and Act Three speculates about the conditions of life after death (an element Wilder admits he "merely took from Dante's 'Purgatory'"). He says the play is "an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life."

At the core are the courtship of Emily Webb, daughter of the local newspaper editor, by George Gibbs, a doctor's son and would-be farmer; their wedding; and her death in childbirth. One of the best scenes occurs when the youngsters have that all-important conversation at the soda fountain and realize they are meant for one another. Their awkwardness is both appealing and affecting.

The acting is first-rate. Scott Hall scores as Dr. Gibbs and is perfectly partnered by Judith Sanford as his wife. Similarly, Don Matthews as editor Webb is a tower of amiability and nicely humorous, with Holly Weber Neimark a poised and matter-of-fact wife and mother. Ax Prince seizes his opportunity to shine as Professor Willard, dispensing local lore, and there's good work from Jackson Campbell as Simon Stimson, the town drunk and organist/choirmaster.

Jackson Rowe (Doug Rowe's son) is a very engaging young actor, even if his passion is film-making, and vividly brings George Gibbs to life. A shimmering performance comes from Shayna Marie as Emily Webb. She is especially moving in the final scene at the cemetery. She is an actress to watch. There are, besides, several young actors, handpicked no doubt for their high ability and promise.

Although Wilder gives time a tweak here and there, there is a timeless element in his play. At the opening of Act Three, the stage manager tells us: "We all know that something is eternal. And it ain't houses and it ain't names, and it ain't earth, and it ain't even the stars ... everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings."

Oregon Stage Works' "Our Town" is richly human.

Robert Miller is a correspondent for the Ashland Daily Tidings.

To comment on this article, contact City Editor Myles Murphy at 488-3456 ext. 3024 or mmurphy@dailytidings.com.