People are toying with “Our Town.”
“Friend” David Schwimmer just played teenage George Gibbs — at age 42. A California company added a Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatic routine. And in New York’s hit off-Broadway revision, it was written that director David Cromer “removes every last shred of sentimentality from the piece, replacing it with a blend of cynicism and simple human truth.”
That last one? Kind of the way Thornton Wilder wanted it. Before his kind of freaky look at 1901 small-town American life (written in ’38) got swiped and dipped in saccharine by schools and community theaters across the country.
TheatreWorks’ Murray Ross takes inspiration for his intriguing new Colorado Springs staging from Cromer, who envisioned a brusque, matter-of-fact stage manager. Our Stephen Weitz is more present but somber. He’s not so much out to comfort or reassure us — more like to eulogize us.
Wilder never set out to romanticize small-town life, with its simple values and earnestly low expectations. Where there’s no culture. Where they don’t travel. This week’s Newsweek retrospective on Wilder argues that, done right, ” ‘Our Town’ is a harrowing story about human limitation.” Heck, the dreary third act is an argument for death as liberation from the ignorance and blindness of our unappreciated time on Earth.
Wilder did set out to bridge our present time (whenever “our time” is) with “the ancient past and the eternal tomorrow.” So it makes some sense that our actors perform here in casual, contemporary dress. And that a dozen audience members are seated on the actual stage. The actors move in and around them, making all of us feel part of “Our Town” — though the cramped space makes it seem as if all 2,642 Grover’s Corner townies might be gathered here tonight.
As Wilder stipulated, most of the action takes place at just two tables with four chairs. Put teen sweethearts George and Emily atop these tables, and they’re upstairs in their neighboring bedrooms. Stripping away nearly all theatrical artifice allows us to zero in on what’s left of the play — its essential humanity.
Ross’ cast of 25 spans in age from 9 to 89, befitting a true, multigenerational community. And they deliver an engrossing performance. Denver actors Leslie O’Carroll and Emily Paton Davies solidly anchor things as businesslike mothers Webb and Gibbs. And yet they, and most other characters, still come off as rich, full-bodied and coursing with interconnection — best evidenced by the wonderfully natural Ben Bonenfant (as George Gibbs), who personifies the polite decency of the town.
But Ross doesn’t quite go all the way with all his conceits. While much of the action is mimed, enough of it is not to confuse things. Plenty of props are used, intermittently. The casual dress concept gives way to suits at George and Emily’s wedding.
And intermingling audience and actors onstage is always a risk. You know it’s paid off if, by the time of wedding, the on-stage audience spontaneously stand for the bride with all the other guests. That would mean they feel they belong. Didn’t happen on opening night, but maybe someday.
The real reason for all the attention Cromer’s New York production has received is a multisensory third-act surprise that Ross replicates here when poor, dead Emily gets to relive one day from her past. It’s a brilliant commentary on memory, reality and our awareness of them. One Wilder might even have approved of. Can’t tell you more.
“Our Town” has been called America’s “Christmas Carol.” Only there’s no Scrooge. No one learns anything here until they’re already dead. The opportunity to change is ours alone.
Yes, life is precious. But “Our Town” argues that it’s too often ordinary. We only get so many days.
Spend one in “Our Town.” Then get out and live. While you can.
“Our Town” *** (out of four stars)
Drama. Presented by TheatreWorks at the Bon Vivant Theatre, 3955 Cragwood Drive on the CU-Colorado Springs campus. Written by Thornton Wilder. Directed by Murray Ross. Starring Stephen Weitz. Through Oct. 25. 2 hours, 10 minutes including two intermissions. Alternating with “New Perspectives on Disability” at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 4 p.m. Sundays. $15-$25. Call 719-262-3232 or go to for daily schedule.
This weekend’s theater openings
“Afghanistan in the Age of the Flowers” This original drama chronicles the plight of the women of Afghanistan since World War II to the present. Through Oct. 31. Presented by the Mercury Motley Players at the Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St., 303-294-9258 or
“Halloween Dreams” Gram Doobie and her grandchildren celebrate Halloween all month. But this year there’s a murderer on the loose. A family-friendly thriller. Through Oct. 31. Vintage Theatre, 2119 E. 17th Ave., 303-839-1361 or
“Heads” Contemporary hostage drama by E.M. Lewis in which a British embassy worker, an American engineer, a network journalist and a freelance photographer must decide what each is willing to do to survive. Performs Tuesdays through Thursdays only. Through Oct. 29. Presented by And Toto Too Theatre at the Victorian Playhouse, 4201 Hooker St., 720-280-7058, or
“Invisible Voices: New Perspectives on Disability” The New York theater company comes to Colorado Springs to weave the stories of six local Colorado Springs disabled residents on the stage. Presented by Ping Cong & Company at TheatreWorks’ Bon Vivant Theatre, 3955 Cragwood Drive on the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs campus. Call 719-262-3232 or go to for exact schedule.
“The Lost Soul of Cripple Creek” This adaptation of an 1867 Victorian melodrama tells the story of a poor Cripple Creek miner who journeys to Denver to reclaim his wife and have his vengeance on the villain who stole her. Through Oct. 31. Presented by the Thin Air Theatre at the Butte Theatre, 139 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, 719-235-8944 or
“Night of the Living Dead” George Romero’s 1968 Zombie thriller as it was never meant to be seen: Live and onstage. Seven people are trapped in a farmhouse surrounded by flesh-eating ghouls. Will any of them get out alive? Through Oct. 31. The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., 303-477-9984 or
“Rent” A modern musical about love, friendship and community in AIDS-era New York City. This is the first locally mounted production by any professional Colorado company. Mature subject and themes. Not recommended for under 13. Through Nov. 21. Carousel Dinner Theatre, 3509 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, 970-225-2555 or
“The Rocky Horror Show” On the way to visit an old college professor, two clean-cut youngsters, Brad Majors and fiancée Janet Weiss, run into trouble and seek help at the freaky Frankenstein mansion. Little do they know that the mansion is inhabited by alien transsexuals from the planet Transylvania and Dr. Frank N. Furter is in the midst of one of his maniacal experiments. Songs include “Time Warp.” Dress as your favorite character, but no props allowed. Through Oct. 31.
73rd Ave. Theatre Company, 7287 Lowell Blvd., Westminster, 720-276-6936 or
“Slut Energy Theory” Jazz singer Rene Marie uses songs and spoken-word essays to present her one-woman play about an elderly yet ageless woman whose harrowing life experiences have left her anything but speechless. Through Oct. 10. Presented by No Credit Productions at the Crossroads Theatre, 2590 Washington St., 303-832-0929 or
“Third” In this, the final play by Wendy Wasserstein, professor Laurie Jameson is disinclined to like the jockish, jingoistic attitude froma student named Woodson Bull III (but you can call him “Third”). He is, as she puts it, “a walking red state.” Believing that Third’s sophisticated essay on “King Lear.” could not possibly have been written by such a specimen, Jameson reports his plagiarism to the college’s Committee of Academic Standards. But is Jameson’s accusation justified? Or is she casting Third as the villain in her own struggle with her relationships, her age and the increasingly polarized political environment? Through Oct. 25. Lake Dillon Theatre Company, 176 Lake Dillon Dr., Dillon, 970-513-9386 or
“Where Did My People Go?” A religious choir piece written and produced by Connie Sauls Wilkins. Friday and Saturday only. Presented by Mile High Choir at Montbello High School, 5000 Crown Blvd., 303-371-6801.
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. Or check out our listings or
