“There is something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.”
I reluctantly read this play in high school. It was a drag. I wasn’t interested in the story, the characters didn’t inspire me, the Stage Manager spouted vague platitudes and I found the female protagonist to be a sellout.
But time, age and personal experience caused me to reconsider. It may be because I’m the mother of two amazing young men who have the world in front of them but that world can be chaotic and violent. It may be the seemingly endless stories of women still violated by lower wages, sexual advances and reduced value by those in power. Or the headlines that belong in Civil Rights history still scrolling across our screens in 2018. Or possibly it’s the toxic rhetoric spewing from world leaders threatening the respect and lives of our neighbors, cities, states and nation.
Whatever the reason, Thornton Wilder’s story resonates differently. The Stage Manager isn’t vague but poignant. And Emily Webb isn’t a sellout but brave.
In honor of these characters and what they represent in our own lives, we explore Our Town through the unassuming but sharp lens of the Stage Manager, cast as a young woman gifted with the awareness and experiences of generations before her. What I saw as ‘vague platitudes’ becomes echoes of lives lived, the ‘eternal about every human being.’ The eternal of Emily Webb, the young woman who doesn’t sellout but bravely transcends traditional expectations. So instead of saying goodbye to simple beauty seen through her death, Emily can live in the lives of all of us, reminding us to hear clocks ticking, appreciate the sunflowers, taste the coffee and feel the warmth of new-ironed clothes. A priceless reminder to embrace what the saints and the poets already know: to realize life as we live it.
Miranda Hawk, Director
