Our Town

I've seen and read "Our Town" so many times that I thought to myself, "Why bother with this one?" It turned out that this is by far the best version of "Our Town" I've ever seen. Paul Newman was a magnificent stage manager. Maggie Lacey and Ben Fox were superb as Emily and George; I doubt that anyone's ever played them better. The ending was so movingly staged and acted that I was reduced to a blubbering idiot with tears rolling down my face. This is as good as it gets for "Our Town," and at last I understand why it's a classic.

In today's world of revivals and remakes being termed "reinventions" it's a pleasure to see a simple, standard production of a simple, standard play. No rewriting anything that may be offensive, no added music, no grand ideas to do it with overblown scenic, set dressing or prop design. Our Town well known to many since it is performed by school and community theatres around the country and most know the story of the small town of Grovers Cornder,NH at dawn of the 20th century. This production, filmed from the Broadway production earlier this season boasts an impressive cast-Paul Newman as the narrating Stage Manager is subtle yet commanding. Frank Converse,Jayne Atkinson, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Jane Curtin as the four parents show the love they have for their children. Broadway vets Stephen Spinella and Mia Dillon show us the good and bad in all the townfolk. Maggie Lacey and Ben Fox are wonderful as the grow and age as the young lovers. Light and dark come from each performer as they go through the paces of this old play.

A solid production of this chestnut. Nothing radical or edgy, but for a play like this, who wants edgy? The storyline accounts for 90% of the plays value, so the acting and production values shouldn't be over-analyzed.

This is one of my all-time favorite plays, and I found this production more than satisfactory.

There are only three other versions of "Our Town" available on VHS/DVD, and all have drawbacks (the 1940 version is fuzzy, the 1989 version is overpriced, and the 1977 version is ho-hum). Given the dearth of copies available on VHS or DVD, this new version is a welcome addition to "Our Town" fans.

Paul Newmann gives a _great_ performance as the narrator, and the rest of the cast is fine, too. I would have cast younger actors for Emily and George.

This is a filmed version of the stage play, on stage. There is no audience, and the camera work is fantastic: this was produced by Exxon/Mobile for Masterpiece Theater, and they spared no expense.

I highly recommend it!

Thankfully, Wilder's story of Our Town can even overcome out of kilter staging and unusual directing notes and even miscasting.

Paul Newman? Yes, he's alright but lacks nearly any sort of personality. The lines that could provide him with sympathy or any form of engagement with the audience are delivered very dryly, with little if any humanity.

The casting? Strange, I think. Both of Emily's parents are quite a bit older than one would expect from a teenager. Gosh, in the 1899 flashback, her father looks like some dodgy 70 year old, and even Jane Curtin is too old to be a teenager's mother.

The script? I fail to see why the producer, director, &/or actors felt compelled to change the script. No, there no major changes, but why change at all? It is certainly not needed, and rather presumptuous.

Similarly, the cemetery scene in Act III is staged rather counter to Wilder's instructions. The dead in that scene seems more like they are waiting for a train than waiting for eternity, and more like a coffee klatch than dead. And they move about quite vigorously in their chairs. I expected a better adherence to Wilder's instructions.

And, when she first appears in Act III, Emily is rather blase. A better staging would be for Emily to show a bit of sorrow, a bit of loss, and a bit of wonder. Instead, it seems to me that Emily is just joining the queue for the train, which will be along any minute now. Just another day.

No, this staging is not bad, but I would have expected much much better from a professional production like this. This production is just mediocre.

mar this adaptation of the great Thornton Wilder play about mutability and one man (town's) place in the universe. Paul Newman, Jane Curtin, and Jayne Atkinson fare best. Jeffrey DeMunn is a little too "actorish," and the young leads lack spark and pale when compared to the luminous performance of William Holden and Martha Scott in the 1940 film. Not bad, but not great either. No two accents are alike (considering this is a turn-of-the-century New England town)---even among families. If you can't do accents, why bother?