View source for Our Town

{{Short description|1938 three-act play by Thornton Wilder}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox play
| name       = Our Town
| image      = Our Town.jpg
| caption    = 1938 first edition cover from the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division
| writer     = [[Thornton Wilder]]
| setting    = 1901 to 1913. Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, near Massachusetts.
| premiere   = January 22, 1938
| place      = [[McCarter Theatre]]<br>[[Princeton, New Jersey]]
| orig_lang  = English
| subject    = Life and death in an American small town
| genre      = Drama
}}
'''''Our Town''''' is a [[Three act structure|three-act]] [[Play (theatre)|play]] written by American [[playwright]] [[Thornton Wilder]] in 1938. Described by [[Edward Albee]] as "the greatest American play ever written",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.origintheatrical.com.au/work/8970|title = Origin Theatrical &#124; Our Town}}</ref> it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens. 

Wilder uses [[metatheatre|metatheatrical]] devices, setting the play in the actual theatre where it is being performed. The main character is the [[stage manager]] of the theatre who directly addresses the audience, brings in guest lecturers, fields questions from the audience, and fills in playing some of the roles. The play is performed without a set on a mostly bare stage. With a few exceptions, the actors mime actions without the use of props.

The first performance of ''Our Town'' was at the [[McCarter Theatre]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], on January 22, 1938.<ref>{{cite web| title=Our Town: A History| url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/ourtown/tg_history.html| series=[[Masterpiece Theatre]]| publisher=[[PBS]]| access-date=2015-02-21| archive-date=2015-02-21| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221233340/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/ourtown/tg_history.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> It went on to success on [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] and received the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]], and remains popular today with frequent revivals.

==Synopsis==
[[File:Craven-Our-Town-1938.jpg|thumb|260px|[[Frank Craven]] as the Stage Manager in the original Broadway production of ''Our Town'' (1938)]]

===Act I: Daily Life===
The Stage Manager introduces the audience to the small town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, its geography and main buildings and institutions, as well as the people living there, as morning breaks on May 7, 1901. Joe Crowell delivers the paper to Doc Gibbs, Howie Newsome delivers the milk, and the Webb and Gibbs households send their children (Emily and Wally Webb, George and Rebecca Gibbs) off to school on a beautifully simple morning. 

The Stage Manager introduces Professor Willard, who speaks to the audience about the history of the town. Next, Editor Webb speaks to the audience about the town's socioeconomic status, political and religious demographics, and the accessibility and proliferation (or lack thereof) of culture and art in Grover's Corners. The Stage Manager then leads the audience through a series of pivotal moments throughout the afternoon and evening, revealing the characters' relationships and challenges. 

It is at this time when we are introduced to Simon Stimson, an organist and choir director at the Congregational Church. It is learned from Mrs. Louella Soames that Simon Stimson is an alcoholic when she, Mrs. Gibbs, and Mrs. Webb stop on the corner after choir practice and "gossip like a bunch of old hens," according to Doc Gibbs, discussing Simon's alcoholism. It seems to be a well known fact amongst everyone in town that Simon Stimson has a problem with alcohol; all the characters speak of his issue as if they are aware of it and his having "seen a peck of trouble," a phrase repeated by more than one character throughout the show. While the majority of townsfolk choose to "look the other way," including the town policeman, Constable Warren, it is Mrs. Gibbs who takes Simon's struggles with addiction to heart, and has a conversation with her husband, Doc Gibbs, about Simon's drinking.

Underneath a glowing full moon, Act I ends with siblings George and Rebecca, and Emily gazing out of their respective bedroom windows, enjoying the smell of heliotrope in the "wonderful (or terrible) moonlight," with the self-discovery of Emily and George liking each other, and the realization that they are both straining to grow up in their own way.

The audience is dismissed to the first intermission by the Stage Manager who quips, "That's the end of the First Act, friends. You can go and smoke now, those that smoke."

===Act II: Love and Marriage===
The Stage Manager sets the scene by explaining three years have passed, and describing the many changes that can take place when "the sun's come up over a thousand times." The Stage Manager notes the themes of Acts I and II - daily life, then marriage - and adds with portent, "There's another act coming after this: I reckon you can guess what that's about."

George and Emily prepare to wed. The day is filled with stress. Howie Newsome is delivering milk in the pouring rain while Si Crowell, younger brother of Joe, laments how George's baseball talents will be squandered. George pays an impulsive and awkward visit to his soon-to-be in-laws. 

Here, the Stage Manager interrupts the scene and takes the audience back a year, to the end of Emily and George's junior year. Emily confronts George about his pride, and over an [[ice cream soda]], they discuss the future and confess their love for each other. George decides not to go to college, as he had planned, but to work and eventually take over his uncle's farm. 

Back in the present, George and Emily say that they are not ready to marry—George to his mother, Emily to her father—but they both calm down and happily go through with the wedding. The Stage Manager, as officiant of the wedding, delivers a monologue on the institution of marriage: "people were made to live two by two" - but concludes, "I've married over two hundred couples in my day. Do I believe in it? I don't know."

Nonetheless, the wedding completes and George and Emily leave, ending Act II, as Mrs. Soames exclaims, "I'm sure they'll be happy. I always say: happiness, that's the great thing! The important thing is to be happy."

===Act III: Death and Eternity===
Nine years have passed. In a lengthy [[monologue]], the Stage Manager discusses eternity ("we all know something is eternal"), focusing attention on the cemetery outside of town, which dates to the 1670s, including people who have died since the wedding -  Mrs. Gibbs ([[pneumonia]], while traveling), Wally Webb (burst appendix, while camping), Mrs. Soames, and Simon Stimson ([[suicide by hanging]]). The Stage Manager posits "the dead don't stay interested in us living people for very long . . . gradually they lose hold of the earth . . . They're waitin'. They're waitin' for something that they feel is comin'. Something important, and great." 

Town undertaker Joe Stoddard is introduced, as is a young man named Sam Craig, who has returned to Grover's Corners for his cousin's funeral. That cousin is revealed to be Emily, who died giving birth to her and George's second child. 

Once the funeral ends Emily emerges to join the dead and, after observing the grief of George and Dr. Gibbs, asks Mrs. Gibbs if it is possible to temporarily return. Mrs. Gibbs urges her to forget her life, warning her that being able to see but not interact with her family, all the while knowing what will happen in the future, will cause her too much pain. Ignoring the warnings of Simon, Mrs. Soames, and Mrs. Gibbs ("our life here is to forget all that, and think only of what's ahead"), Emily persuades the Stage Manager to return her to Earth to relive one day, her 12th birthday. 

She joyfully watches her parents and some of the people of her childhood for the first time in years, but her happiness quickly turns to pain as she realizes how little people appreciate the simple activities of life ("It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another."). The recognition proves too painful for her ("all that was going on, and we never noticed") and she realizes that every moment of life should be treasured. 

Emily asks the Stage Manager to return her to the dead, then hesitates and in a final monologue says goodbye to mortal life ("Oh Earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you"). She asks the Stage Manager if anyone truly understands the value of life while they live it; he responds, "No. The saints and poets, maybe – they do some." 

Emily returns to her grave next to Mrs. Gibbs and watches impassively as George kneels weeping over her. The Stage Manager concludes the play and wishes the audience a good night.

==Characters==
===Primary characters===
* '''Stage Manager'''&nbsp;– The narrator and commentator, who guides the audience through Grover's Corners. He periodically participates in the play (as the minister at the wedding, the soda shop owner, a local townsman, etc.) and advises Emily directly after her death.
* '''Emily Webb'''&nbsp;– The [[protagonist]], who we follow from a precocious young girl through to her wedding to George Gibbs and death in child birth.
* '''George Gibbs'''&nbsp;– The other main character; the boy next door, a kind but irresponsible teenager who matures over time and becomes a responsible husband, father, and farmer.
* '''Frank Gibbs'''&nbsp;– George's father, the town Doctor.
* '''Julia (Hersey) Gibbs'''&nbsp;–George's mother, who dreams of going to Paris. She sells an antique piece of furniture for $350, intending to use it for the trip, but instead bequeathes the money to George and Emily. Julia dies while visiting her daughter in Ohio.
* '''Charles Webb'''&nbsp;– Editor of the ''Grover's Corners Sentinel'' and father of Emily and Wally.
* '''Myrtle Webb'''&nbsp;– mother of Emily and Wally.

===Secondary characters===
* '''Joe''' and '''Si Crowell'''&nbsp;– Local paperboys. Joe's intelligence earns him a full scholarship to [[MIT]] where he graduates at the top of his class. His promise will be cut short on the fields of [[France]] during [[World War I]], according to the Stage Manager. Both he and his brother Si hold marriage in high disdain.
* '''Simon Stimson'''&nbsp;– The choir director and church organist. We never learn the specific cause of his alcoholism and suicide, although Joe Stoddard, the undertaker, observes that "He's seen a peck of troubles." He remains bitter and cynical even beyond the grave. Some critics interpret Simon as a closeted homosexual.<ref>"[https://www.twildersociety.org/2015/12/01/call-for-proposals-queer-readings-of-thornton-wilder/ Call for Proposals: 'Queer Readings of Thornton Wilder],'" ''Thornton Wilder Society,'' Dec. 1, 2015. Retrieved Aug. 28, 2022.</ref><ref>Elliott Kenneth. "The Outsider: Contextualizing Simon Stimson in Our Town." ''Thornton Wilder: New Perspectives,'' edited by Bryer Jackson R., Konkle Lincoln, Northwestern UP, 2013, pp. 121–31.</ref>
* '''Howie Newsome'''&nbsp;– The milkman, a fixture of Grover's Corners. 
* '''Rebecca Gibbs'''&nbsp;– George's younger sister. Later elopes with a traveling salesman and settles in [[Ohio]].
* '''Wallace "Wally" Webb'''&nbsp;– Emily's younger brother. Died of a burst [[Vermiform appendix|appendix]] on a [[Boy Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)|Boy Scout]] camping trip.
* '''Professor Willard'''&nbsp;– A rather long-winded lecturer.
* '''Woman in the Balcony'''&nbsp;– Attendee of Editor Webb's political and social report – concerned with [[Temperance movement|temperance]].
* '''Belligerent Man at Back of Auditorium'''&nbsp;– Attendee of Editor Webb's political and social report – concerned with [[social justice]].
* '''Lady in a Box'''&nbsp;– Attendee of Editor Webb's political and social report – concerned with culture and beauty.
* '''Mrs. Louella Soames'''&nbsp;– A gossipy townswoman and member of the choir.
* '''Constable Bill Warren'''&nbsp;– The policeman.
* '''Three Baseball Players'''&nbsp;– Who mock George at the wedding.
* '''Joe Stoddard'''&nbsp;– The undertaker.
* '''Sam Craig'''&nbsp;– A nephew of Mrs Gibbs who left town to seek his fortune. He came back after 12 years in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] for Emily's funeral.
* '''Man from among the Dead'''
* '''Woman from among the Dead'''
* '''Mr. Carter (Dead)'''
* '''Farmer McCarty (Dead)'''
* '''Bessie'''&nbsp;– Howie Newsome's horse, visible to the characters, but not the audience.

===Casting in some notable productions===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" |Character
! scope="col" | Broadway
! scope="col" | Broadway Revival
! scope="col" | Broadway Revival
! scope="col" | West End
! scope="col" | Broadway Revival
! scope="col" | Off-Broadway Revival
! scope="col" | Off-West End Revival
! scope="col" | Broadway Revival
|-
!<small>1938</small>
!<small>1969</small>
!<small>1988</small>
!<small>1991</small>
!<small>2002</small>
!<small>2009</small>
!<small>2014</small>
!<small>2024</small>
|-
! The Stage Manager
| align="center"| [[Frank Craven]]
| align="center"| [[Henry Fonda]]
| align="center"| [[Spalding Gray]]
| align=center| [[Alan Alda]]
| align="center"| [[Paul Newman]]
| align=center colspan=2 | [[David Cromer]]
| align="center"| [[Jim Parsons]]
|-
! Emily Webb
| align="center"| [[Martha Scott]]
| align="center"| [[Elizabeth Hartman]]
| align="center"| [[Penelope Ann Miller]]
| align=center| [[Jemma Redgrave]]
| align="center"| Maggie Lacey
| align=center | Jennifer Grace 
| align=center| Laura Elsworthy
| align="center"| [[Zoey Deutch]]
|-
! George Gibbs
| align="center"| [[John Craven (actor)|John Craven]]
| align="center"| [[Harvey Evans]]
| align="center"| [[Eric Stoltz]]
| align=center| [[Robert Sean Leonard]]
| align="center"| Ben Fox
| align=center | James McMenamin
| align=center| David Walmsley
| align="center"| [[Ephraim Sykes]]
|-
! Doctor Frank Gibbs
| align="center"| Jay Fassett
| align="center"| [[Ed Begley]]
| align="center"| [[James Rebhorn]]
| align=center| [[John Rowe (actor)|John Rowe]]
| align="center"| [[Frank Converse]]
| align=center | Mark L. Montgomery
| align=center| [[Rhashan Stone]]
| align="center"| Billy Eugene Jones
|-
! Julia Hersey Gibbs
| align="center"| [[Evelyn Varden]]
| align="center"| [[Mildred Natwick]]
| align="center"| [[Frances Conroy]]
| align=center| [[Rosemary Martin]]
| align="center"| [[Jayne Atkinson]]
| align=center | Lori Myers
| align=center| [[Anna Francolini]]
| align="center"| Michelle Wilson
|-
! Myrtle Webb
| align="center"| Helen Carew
| align="center"| [[Irene Tedrow]]
| align="center"| [[Roberta Maxwell]]
| align=center| [[Rowena Cooper]]
| align="center"| [[Jane Curtin]]
| align=center | Kati Brazda
| align=center| [[Kate Dickie]]
| align="center"| [[Katie Holmes]]
|-
! Editor Charles Webb
| align="center"| [[Thomas W. Ross]]
| align="center"| [[John Randolph (actor)|John Randolph]]
| align="center"| [[Peter Maloney (actor)|Peter Maloney]]
| align=center| [[John Normington]]
| align="center"| [[Jeffrey DeMunn]]
| align=center | Ken Marks
| align=center| [[Richard Lumsden]]
| align="center"| [[Richard Thomas (actor)|Richard Thomas]]
|-
|}

==Composition==
Wilder began making notes for the play while he was teaching and lecturing in Chicago in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://chicagoliteraryhof.org/inductees |title=Thornton Wilder |website=Chicago Literary Hall of Fame |access-date=2020-02-13}}</ref> Constantly on the move, he worked on the play wherever he went.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Chris |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-prj-1223-thornton-wilder-20121228-column.html |title=Our town was Wilder's town too |date=December 28, 2012| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=2020-02-13}}</ref> In June 1937, he stayed in the [[MacDowell Colony]] in [[Peterborough, New Hampshire]], one of the many locations where he worked on the play. It is believed Wilder drafted the entire third act during a visit to Zürich in September 1937, in one day, after a long evening walk in the rain with a friend, author [[Phil Andros|Samuel Morris Steward]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Steward| first=Samuel| author2=Gertrude Stein| author3=Alice B. Toklas| title=Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas| publisher=Houghton Mifflin| year=1977| url=https://archive.org/details/dearsammyletters00stei/page/32/mode/2up?q=zurich| isbn=978-0395253403| page=32| url-access=registration}}</ref>

Wilder explained his vision in writing the play:

<blockquote>"Our Town" is not offered as a picture of life in a New Hampshire village or as a speculation about the condition of life after death. . . .It is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our life. I have made the claim as preposterous as possible, for I have set the village against the largest dimension of time and place. The recurrent words in this play (few have noticed it) are "hundreds", "thousands", and "millions".<ref name=WilderBook>{{cite book
| last=Wilder
| first=Thornton
| title=Thornton Wilder, Collected Plays and Writings on Theater
|url=https://archive.org/details/collectedplayswr0000wild
|chapter=Preface to Three Plays: 'Our Town', 'By the Skin of our Teeth', 'The Matchmaker'
|page=686 
|date=15 March 2007
| publisher=Library of America
|isbn=9781598530032
| url-access=registration
| access-date=2023-01-30}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Setting==
The play is set in the actual theatre where the play is being performed, but the date is always May 7, 1901. The Stage Manager of the May 7, 1901, production introduces the [[story within a story|play-within-the-play]], which is set in the fictional community of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. The Stage Manager locates Grover's Corners at latitude 42°&nbsp;40′&nbsp;N and longitude 70°&nbsp;37′&nbsp;W, though these coordinates are actually in waters about 300 meters off the coast of [[Rockport, Massachusetts]]. At the beginning of Act III, he mentions several nearby New Hampshire landmarks, including Mt. Monadnock and the towns of Jaffrey, Jaffrey Center, Peterborough, and Dublin.

==Style==
In Wilder's writing of ''Our Town'', he employed a [[metatheatrical]] style. He utilized the [[Stage Manager]] role to narrate the story and also to appear as several different characters. The Stage Manager, as the play's "Narrator," creates the story's point of view. The Narrator is supernatural as he is entirely aware of his relationship with the audience; as such it allows him freedom to break the [[fourth wall]] and address them directly. 

The play's stage direction indicates that the play is to be staged and performed with little [[Theatrical scenery|scenery]], no [[Set construction|set]], and minimal [[Theatrical property|props]]. Wilder's reasoning was, "...I tried to restore significance to the small details of life by removing the scenery. The spectator through lending his imagination to the action restages it inside his own head. In its healthiest ages, the theatre has always exhibited the least scenery."<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/02/13/96800995.html?pageNumber=155
|title=A Preface For "Our Town"
|last=Wilder
|first=Thornton
|work=The New York Times
|date=February 13, 1938
|quote=Mr. Wilder Discusses Such Matters as Realism, Convention, Even Scenery, in Connection With Grover's Corners
|access-date=May 4, 2021}}</ref> 

Wilder commented on the sparse stage setting:

<blockquote>Each individual assertion to an absolute reality can only be inner, very inner. And here the method of staging finds its justification–in the first two acts there are at least a few chairs and tables; but when Emily revisits the earth and the kitchen to which she descended on her twelfth birthday, the very chairs and table are gone. Our claim, our hope, our despair is in the mind–not in things, not in "scenery". Moliere said that for the theater all he needed was a platform and a passion or two. The climax of this play needs only five square feet of boarding and the passion to know what life means to us.<ref name=WilderBook/></blockquote>

The characters mime the objects with which they interact. Their surroundings are created only with chairs, tables, staircases, and other mundane objects. For example, the scene in which Emily helps George with his evening [[homework]], conversing through upstairs windows, is often performed with the two actors standing atop separate ladders to represent their neighboring houses.

Wilder called ''Our Town'' his favorite out of all his works, but complained that it was rarely done right, insisting that it "should be performed without sentimentality or ponderousness—simply, dryly, and sincerely."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oregonlive.com/performance/2015/09/our_town_review.html | title=Classic 'Our Town' shines at Portland Center Stage (Review) | date=September 19, 2015 }}</ref>

==Production history==
[[File:Craven-Scott-Craven-Our-Town.jpg|thumb|[[Frank Craven]], [[Martha Scott]] and [[John Craven (actor)|John Craven]] in the original Broadway production of ''Our Town'' (1938)]]
''Our Town'' was first performed at the [[McCarter Theater]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], on January 22, 1938.

It next opened at the [[Wilbur Theatre]] in [[Boston]], on January 25, 1938.

The [[New York City]] debut of ''Our Town'' was on February 4, 1938, at [[Henry Miller's Theatre]] and later moved to the [[Morosco Theatre]], where it ran until November 19, 1938; this production was produced and directed by [[Jed Harris]].<ref name="original play">{{cite web| title=Our Town| website=Internet Broadway Database| url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=10441| access-date=2008-07-10}}</ref> Wilder received the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] in 1938 for the work.<ref name="pulitzer">{{cite web| title=Pulitzer Prize Winners of 1938| website=The Pulitzer Prizes| url=http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1938| year=1938| access-date=2008-07-10}}</ref> The Jed Harris production of ''Our Town'' was revived at [[New York City Center]] on January 10, 1944, running for 24 performances until January 29, with [[Montgomery Clift]] as George, [[Martha Scott]] as Emily, and [[Thomas W. Ross]] as Mr. Webb.<ref>{{cite web| title=Our Town| url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/our-town-470682| website=Internet Broadway Database| access-date=2021-02-04}}</ref>

In 1946, the [[Soviet Union]] prevented a production of ''Our Town'' in the Russian sector of occupied [[Berlin]] "on the grounds that the drama is too depressing and could inspire a German suicide wave."<ref>"Play 'Our Town' is Banned in Soviet Berlin Sector", ''Christian Science Monitor'', February 13, 1946, p. 13.</ref>

[[Victor Carin]] directed a production by the [[Gateway Theatre (Edinburgh)|Edinburgh Gateway Company]] in 1965.<ref>Edinburgh Gateway Company (1965), ''The Twelve Seasons of the Edinburgh Gateway Company, 1953 - 1965'', St. Giles Press, Edinburgh, p. 55</ref>

[[Henry Fonda]] played the Stage Manager in a production that ran on Broadway from Nov 27 to Dec 27, 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://playbill.com/production/our-town-anta-playhouse-vault-0000005280|title=Our Town (Broadway, August Wilson Theatre, 1969) &#124; Playbill}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Hartman]] played Emily and [[Harvey Evans]] played George. [[Margaret Hamilton (actress)|Margaret Hamilton]] and [[Ed Begley]] were in the cast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://playbill.com/personlistpage/person-list?production=00000150-aea3-d936-a7fd-eef7d7fc0001&type=op#cc|title=Playbill}}</ref> 

A production at New York City's Lyceum Theatre, produced by [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts|Lincoln Center]] opened on December 4, 1988, after 27 previews, and ran for 136 performances until April 2, 1989; the cast included [[Spalding Gray]] as "Stage Manager," [[Frances Conroy]] as Mrs. Gibbs, [[Penelope Ann Miller]] as Emily, and [[Eric Stoltz]] as George.<ref>{{cite web| title=Our Town: People| url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/our-town-4525#People| website=Internet Broadway Database| access-date=February 4, 2021}}</ref> The production was videotaped for broadcast on PBS (see "Adaptations" below).

In 2003, [[Paul Newman]], marking his final stage performance, acted in the role of Stage Manager, with [[Jayne Atkinson]] as Mrs. Gibbs and [[Jane Curtin]] as Mrs. Webb, in a production staged at New York City's [[Booth Theatre]]. It opened on December 4, 2002, after three previews and ran until January 26, 2003.<ref>{{cite web| title=Our Town: People| url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/our-town-13438| website=Internet Broadway Database| access-date=February 4, 2021}}</ref> The production was videotaped for broadcast on Showtime and later on PBS (see "Adaptations" below).<ref name=westport>{{cite news| title=Westport Announces Additional Screenings of Paul Newman Our Town| url=https://www.playbill.com/article/westport-announces-additional-screenings-of-paul-newman-our-town-com-154865| last=Hetrick| first=Adam| date=November 3, 2008| magazine=[[Playbill]]| access-date=2021-02-04}}</ref>

A revival of ''Our Town'' opened at the [[Barrow Street Theatre]], in [[New York City]], on February 26, 2009. The production was directed by [[David Cromer]], who also performed the role of Stage Manager for much of the show's run. Upon closing, the production had played four preview and 644 regular performances, making it the longest-running production of the play in its history. In addition to Cromer, other notable actors who performed in the role of Stage Manager included [[Helen Hunt]], [[Michael McKean]], [[Jason Butler Harner]], [[Stephen Kunken]] and [[Michael Shannon]].<ref name="revival">{{cite journal| url=https://www.playbill.com/article/david-cromers-heralded-our-town-ends-off-broadway-run-sept-12-com-171678| title=David Cromer's Heralded 'Our Town' Ends Off-Broadway Run Sept. 12| last=Hetrick| first=Adam| date=September 12, 2010| journal=[[Playbill]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918015954/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/142889-David-Cromers-Heralded-Our-Town-Ends-Off-Broadway-Run-Sept-12| archive-date=2010-09-18| url-status=dead| access-date=2021-02-04}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Tony Award]]–winning [[Deaf West Theater]], a Los Angeles–based theater company, co-produced with the [[Pasadena Playhouse]] a production of ''Our Town'' performed in [[American Sign Language]] and spoken English.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/event/our-town/| title=Our Town| website=Pasadena Playhouse}}
</ref>

A new revival directed by [[Kenny Leon]] opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] on October 10, 2024 <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/jim-parsons-katie-holmes-zoey-deutch-star-in-our-town-on-broadway-1235865161/ | title=Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes, Zoey Deutch to Star in 'Our Town' Revival on Broadway | website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=April 3, 2024 }}</ref> with [[Jim Parsons]] as the Stage Manager, [[Zoey Deutch]] as Emily Webb, [[Katie Holmes]] as Mrs. Webb, Billy Eugene Jones as Dr. Gibbs, [[Ephraim Sykes]] as George Gibbs, [[Richard Thomas (actor)|Richard Thomas]] as Mr. Webb, Michelle Wilson as Mrs. Gibbs, [[Julie Halston]] as Mrs. Soames, and Donald Webber Jr. as Simon Stimpson. The production began previews on 17 September 2024 at the [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosky |first=Nicole |title=Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes and More Will Lead Kenny Leon's OUR TOWN Revival |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Jim-Parsons-Katie-Holmes-and-More-Will-Lead-Kenny-Leons-OUR-TOWN-Revival-20240403 |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=2024-04-03 |title='Our Town' Broadway Cast To Include Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes, Richard Thomas, Ephraim Sykes, Zoey Deutch & 23 More |url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/our-town-broadway-cast-opening-date-1235874329/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Review-Roundup-Jim-Parsons-More-Star-In-OUR-TOWN-On-Broadway-20241010 | title=Review Roundup: OUR TOWN on Broadway Starring Jim Parsons & More }}</ref> This production closed on January 19, 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Collins-Hughes |first=Laura |date=2024-12-26 |title=Broadway Shows Closing Soon: 'Our Town,' 'Cult of Love' and More |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/theater/broadway-shows-closing-soon.html |access-date=2025-01-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Awards==
* 1938 [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]]. On May 2, 1938, Thornton Wilder won the prize of $1,000 "for the original American play. . .which shall represent in marked fashion the educational value and power of the stage, preferably dealing with the American life."<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/05/03/96818900.html?pageNumber=1
|title=Wilder's Drama 'Our Town' Is Named Pulitzer Winner
|work=The New York Times
|date=May 3, 1938
|access-date=May 4, 2021}}</ref>
* 1938 [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]] for Best American Play (runner-up)<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards Past Winners|url=https://www.dramacritics.org/dc_pastawards.html |access-date=31 January 2025 |website=New York Drama Critics' Circle|language=en}}</ref>
* 1989 [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play]]
* 1989 [[Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play]]

==Adaptations==
[[File:Hal Holbrook Our Town 1977.jpg|upright=.84909091|thumb|[[Hal Holbrook]] as the Stage Manager in the 1977 television adaptation.]]
* ''Our Town'' was first performed on radio May 12, 1939, on ''[[The Campbell Playhouse (radio series)|The Campbell Playhouse]]''. The cast included [[Orson Welles]] as the Stage Manager, [[John Craven (actor)|John Craven]], of the original stage production, as George Gibbs, and Patricia Newton as Emily Webb.
* [[Our Town (1940 film)|''Our Town'' (1940 film)]], an adaptation starring [[Martha Scott]] as Emily and [[William Holden]] as George Gibbs, with an original music score composed by [[Aaron Copland]]. Four members of the original cast repeated their roles in this film, although the ending was changed with Wilder’s approval<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harrison |first1=Gilbert A. |title=The Enthusiast: A Life of Thornton Wilder |date=1983 |publisher=Ticknor & Fields |location=New Haven and New York |isbn=0-89919-197-5 |page=203}}</ref>  so that Emily lived.
* ''Our Town'' (1940 radio): on May 6, 1940, a radio version was performed by many of the same film actors for ''[[Lux Radio Theater]]''.
* ''Our Town'' (1946 radio): on September 29, 1946, a radio version was performed on the ''[[United States Steel Hour|Theatre Guild on the Air]]'' featuring Thornton Wilder himself as the Stage Manager and [[Dorothy McGuire]] as Emily.
* In 1953, ''[[The Ford 50th Anniversary Show]]'', broadcast live on both the CBS and NBC television networks, featured a scene from ''Our Town'', including performances by [[Mary Martin]] and [[Oscar Hammerstein II]]. The Ford show attracted an audience of 60&nbsp;million viewers. Forty years after the broadcast, television critic [[Tom Shales]] recalled the broadcast as both "a landmark in television" and "a milestone in the cultural life of the '50s."<ref>{{cite news| title=Ford's 50th anniversary show was milestone of '50s culture| newspaper=[[Palm Beach Daily News]]| date=December 26, 1993| last=Shales| first=Tom| page=B3| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59934494/fords-50th-anniversary-show-was/| via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
* [[Our Town (Producer's Showcase)|''Our Town'' (television)]], a live musical 1955 television adaptation on ''[[Producers' Showcase]]'' starring [[Frank Sinatra]] as the Stage Manager, [[Paul Newman]] as George Gibbs, and [[Eva Marie Saint]] as Emily. The first and only musical version of the play to be telecast. The song "[[Love and Marriage]]" was written for this production by [[Jimmy van Heusen]] and [[Sammy Cahn]].
* ''Our Town'',<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081290/| title=Our Town (TV Movie 1977)| date=May 30, 1977| website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref> a 1977 television adaptation of the play. This adaptation starred [[Hal Holbrook]] as the Stage Manager, [[Robby Benson]] as George Gibbs and [[Glynnis O'Connor]] as Emily Webb, and also featured [[Ned Beatty]], [[Barbara Bel Geddes]] and [[Sada Thompson]]. 
* ''Grover's Corners'', a 1987 musical adaptation with music and lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt was performed at the [[Marriott Theatre]] in [[Lincolnshire, Illinois]].
* ''Our Town'',<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098041/| title="Great Performances" Our Town (TV Episode 1989)| author=W. Jones| website=IMDb| date=3 November 1989}}</ref> a 1989 telecast of a [[Lincoln Center]] stage production starring [[Spalding Gray]], [[Frances Conroy]], [[Penelope Ann Miller]], and [[Eric Stoltz]].
* In 1994, Philip Jerry choreographed a balletic adaptation set to the music of Aaron Copland which the [[American Repertory Ballet]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], has performed in the decades since its premiere.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.arballet.org/repertory/our-town/| title=Our Town| website=American Repertory Ballet| access-date=February 4, 2021| archive-date=August 5, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805014140/https://www.arballet.org/repertory/our-town/| url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The 1996 movie ''[[The Birdcage]]''  mentions Grover’s Corners as [[Nathan Lane]]’s character’s home town.
* ''[[OT: Our Town]]'', a 2002 documentary by [[Scott Hamilton Kennedy]] about a production of the play by [[Dominguez High School]] in [[Compton, California]].
* ''Our Town,'' a 2003 television film adaptation starring [[Paul Newman]] as the Stage Manager. It was shown on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] as part of ''[[Masterpiece Theatre]]'' after first being shown on the cable channel [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]. It was filmed at the [[Booth Theatre]] in [[Manhattan]], where it played on Broadway in 2002.<ref name=westport/>
* [[Our Town (opera)|''Our Town'' (opera)]], an [[opera]]tic version of the play with music by [[Ned Rorem]].
* ''[[Wonder (film)|Wonder]]'' has a mention of the play, but only the beginning and end scenes are depicted.
* The style of the play is mimicked in the 2003 [[Lars Von Trier]] film ''[[Dogville]]''.
* A performance of ''Our Town'' is central to [[Ann Patchett]]'s 2023 novel ''[[Tom Lake]]''.
* In Season 2 of ''[[The Big Door Prize]]'', a major subplot involves a [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]]-themed production of ''Our Town''.
* A re-imagining of ''Our Town'' set in a Welsh town for the [[Welsh National Theatre]]'s inaugural season in 2026, starring [[Michael Sheen]] as The Stage Manager<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Town |url=https://www.welshnationaltheatre.com/our-town |access-date=2025-08-07 |website=Welsh National Theatre |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-03 |title=Michael Sheen to star in new production of Our Town which will tour Wales & London |url=https://www.thorntonwilder.com/blog/2025/4/3/michael-sheen-to-star-in-new-production-of-our-town-on-wales-amp-london-tour |access-date=2025-08-07 |website=Thornton Wilder |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=News |date=2025-04-02 |title=Michael Sheen to star in new production of Our Town in London and on tour {{!}} West End Theatre |url=https://www.westendtheatre.com/283870/news/michael-sheen-to-star-in-new-production-of-our-town/ |access-date=2025-08-07 |website=www.westendtheatre.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Town — Starring Michael Sheen |url=https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/our-town-m74x |access-date=2025-08-07 |website=www.rosetheatre.org |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book| last=Wilder| first=Thornton| title=Our Town: A Play in Three Acts| location=New York| publisher=Coward McCann, Inc.| year=1938| oclc=773139}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Our Town}}
* [http://www.twildersociety.org/education/teaching-materials/ The Thornton Wilder Society "Teaching Materials"]
* [https://www.twildersociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/teachingGuide_penelopeNiven_ourTown.pdf Exploring Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" ]
* [https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/dramatic-and-theatrical-aspects-thornton-wilders-our-town Dramatic and Theatrical Aspects in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town”]
* [http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/OurTown.html "Our Town" - Cummings Study Guide']
* [https://archive.org/details/Our_Town "Our Town" - 1940 Black and White Film - at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.twildersociety.org/works/our-town/ ''Our Town'' Plot Summary and Critical Analysis]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhnHgz-nw2Y In Our Living and Our Dying: "Our Town" in the 21st Century - Short documentation film about "Our Towns" Legacy]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc1o9cGQ9_Q A Film - "Our Town" 2003 Broadway Production Paul Newman as Stage Manager]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgUGGA1-lnY A Film - How Thornton Wilder’s Play Speaks to a Changing America and Around the World]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwn8Fboz8nA The Lasting Impact of "Our Town" - A segment from CBS News - Sunday Morning]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k_EBbZdUO0 "Our Town" - 1989 PBS Series - Great Performances]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uv8HzULluo Shakespeare Hour Episode 51: "Our Town" - A discussion of the staging, motifs, and leitmotifs in the play "Our Town" - Alan Paul (Director, "Our Town"): Howard Sherman (Author, Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century); and Craig Wallace (played the role of Mr. Webb in "Our Town")]
* {{IBDB show|6845}}

{{Thornton Wilder}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for ''Our Town'' 
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{{Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival}}
{{Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1926-1950}}
{{TonyAward Revival}}
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[[Category:1938 plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Drama Desk Award–winning plays]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama–winning works]]
[[Category:Plays by Thornton Wilder]]
[[Category:Tony Award–winning plays]]
[[Category:West End plays]]
[[Category:Plays set in New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Plays set in the 1900s]]
[[Category:Plays set in the 1910s]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1901]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1904]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1913]]
[[Category:American plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Coward-McCann books]]