The lesson Our Town really teaches is that if you're using an invisible door, you should always remember where it's located.
The play, set in 1901, is legendary for its lack of scenery, according to the narrating Stage Manager, portrayed by Michael Genovese. Unfortunately, in the UC Denver version, the inconsistencies with invisible scenery were just one part of a good play that never quite reached greatness.
Actor Paul Jimenez, who played George Gibbs, continuously walked into the invisible butternut tree, opened a random door in what was meant to be the Gibbs' garden, and entered a room 10 feet in front of where the "door" was a few minutes before.
Actor Jordan Crabb, who portrayed milkman Howie Newsome, did a little better leading his fake cow, but also walked the invisible cow directly into invisible houses and the butternut tree.
The women of the play redeemed these mistakes. Minor character Professor Willard, played by Quinn Jeannerett, was probably the best actor in the play. Jeannerett perfectly portrayed the professor as an abrasive, obnoxious nerd. Her loud performance stood out among the main characters as a memorable, fantastic job.
Kate Herrel as Mrs. Gibbs and Leah Watson as Mrs. Webb made their invisible kitchens truly believable while adding dignity to the three-meal-a-day housewife characters they portrayed.
Act I dragged its feet, but it introduced the characters as needed and gave some background. While no characters truly shined in Act I, Herrell potrayed Mrs. Gibbs as a very convincing housewife and delivered her lines neatly. She was also the only character whose facial expressions worked in sync with the script.
Jimenez garnered many laughs during Act II's soda fountain scene, delivering awkwardly believable lines like, "Well, I guess this is a pretty important talk we've been having…" when asking Emily, played by Shannon Gambill, to be his girlfriend.
Gambill delivered some convincing lines also, including the innocent, "Mama, were you pretty?" when asking her mother about young love.
Unfortunately, Gambill stumbled through the wedding scene in Act II, appearing to forget a line or two when talking to Mr. Webb, portrayed by Shawn McClellan.
The wedding scene had the potential to be great but fell flat with unconvincing acting. The actors delivered no romance whatsoever. The on-stage kiss between Jimenez and Gambill was obviously forced to the point of glaring awkwardness.
The costuming was a bit confusing, as Mrs. Gibbs wore an old-fashioned dress and Mrs. Webb wore jeans, which certainly were not in style in 1901. Perhaps this is a statement on womanhood and the timeless nature of the play, or perhaps there just wasn't a huge budget for costumes.
The costuming muddled the Americana feel of the play, especially in later acts when some actors were dressed in 1950's varsity jackets, some wore turn-of-the-century farmer overalls and some looked like they just came from class.
The sound effects in the play were surprisingly effective. Disembodied doorbells, birds chirping, and train whistles gave the nearly empty stage a sense of having a set. A full on-stage choir sounded incredible, singing hymns that filled the theatre like a church, which added much needed emotion to the funeral scene in Act III.
While the amateur mistakes of stumbling into invisible doors and trees plagued the play, director Terry Dodd successfully achieved romance and a sweet, small town vibe. The acting wasn't terrible, but it wasn't memorable either. The emotive funeral ending could have induced tears, but never quite got there. Our Town has the potential to be great, but at UCD, it only scraped by as decent.
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22 comments
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so, especially if she was soft skinned about negative reaction. On the other hand If the cast and crew were deeply offended by this review then public performance may not be the best place for them.
Thorton Wilder on Our Town
I agree with Rael Thompson about the fact that, if Kait McNamee didn't focus on the imaginary scenery, she would see the great performance in the actors and actresses. The actors and actresses did a lovely and wonderful job. There were real tears during the last act as well. Paul Jimenez wasn't the only one who shed tears, but Kate Herrel did too.
The costumes were the way the were for a reason just like the scenery was imaginary so that the audience can focus more on the actors.
By the way, the photo that Kait McNamee has for this article and was taken by Olivia Lewis has such a funny comment at the bottom. It shows a lot about how much the writer paid attention to the play. The set in the photo was not a restaurant but actually two separate and different kitchens.
As a result, I am disappointed in UCD Advocate... again.