Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . .
Picture the surprise gasp from the audience as the curtain rose on Our Town at its premiere in 1938. The sight of there being no scenery must have shocking since . . . Oh, wait, back up. There was no curtain. These were only two of the many innovations the play introduced in its unconventional staging directed by Jed Harris, a now forgotten Broadway name and once a major force in the American Theatre between the late 1920s and 1940s. There were no sets, no costume changes; little to interfere in the telling of what life is like in the fictional town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire at the dawn of the 20th century. Narrated by a character known as Stage Manager, the action takes the form of a play; its transitions marked by little more than subtle lighting cues. Props are all mimed, especially the horse that aids Howie Newsome, the lad who delivers the milk. It’s a mistake to believe Wilder was only interested in offering up a quaint story in remembrance of a simpler time (and in 1938, it was only about two generations removed from the era depicted). Without being obvious about it, the playwright inches the play slowly towards working on a cosmic level, dealing as it does with life and death and pulling no punches. For it to succeed, all one needs to do is follow the guidelines Wilder clearly dictates. It’s why it can be performed brilliantly by middle schoolers (as I once saw it done). Directorial flourishes, if any, need to be minimalistic and honestly integrated, otherwise it won’t support the weight of heavy-handed ideas.
Therein lies the problem with the new revival of this timeless play that opened tonight at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Instead of letting its story of “life, love and death” unfold naturally and languidly, director Kenny Leon has imposed a stopwatch on the proceedings, anxious to get us in and out as fast and efficiently as possible. Originally performed in three acts with two intermissions, omitting one of them in this era of theatre is perfectly fine. But by removing both breaks and playing the action straight through shortchanges any breathing room for taking in its gentle philosophies. This is exacerbated by having the Stage Manager (Jim Parsons) move things along like a traffic cop in a brisk and brusque manner that results in a weirdly paced production. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand “Why the urgency?” It feels antithetical to what makes Our Town so special.
In his program notes, Leon sets things up nicely, but fails at his task. “The play is most certainly a metaphor for time spent on the planet in America.” Absolutely. Then why perform it as if it’s all over in the blink of an eye? Even it’s beautiful third act, an almost mystical meditation on death, is rushed. Padded with a musical prologue of prayers in multiple languages at the top left me wishing later on that the stage time was better spent by a couple of nicely placed cesuras.
I was hoping to listen to the play and luxuriate in Wilder’s words, poetic in their simplicity, but certain performances prevented that luxury. Katie Holmes as Mrs. Webb is so busy moving imaginary objects in the kitchen that she seems exhausted by life, which felt false to the character. As Simon Stimson, the miscast Donald Webber Jr. has the healthy build and demeanor of a football coach, not the school’s alcoholic choirmaster. And with all the wonderful young actors around, the thirty-nine-year-old Ephraim Sykes, who has the body of a gym rat, plays seventeen-year-old George Gibbs, described in the text as “gangly.” It doesn’t make sense. Zoey Deutch, not yet thirty, does a lovely job with Emily Webb, but again, any pathos that should have been wrought from her final scene has been zapped by the inexplicable speed set forth by Leon and as enabled by Parsons’s Stage Manager. Perhaps my memory of Henry Fonda in the role when I saw him on Broadway as a teenager fifty-five years ago has spoiled me, although David Cromer’s performance in the 2009 off-Broadway Our Town, that he also directed, was effortlessly effective—and unhurried.
The most successful directorial touch is the casting of deaf actor John McGinty as Howie Newsome, offering exemplary mime work with his horse and bottles of milk. It was beautiful to watch certain townspeople like Constable Warren (sweetly portrayed by Bill Timoney) and Doc Gibbs (a charming Billy Eugene Jones) communicate with him in sign language, which makes for a moving statement about connectivity within small town life. Shout outs to dependable pros Richard Thomas and Julie Halston for their guileless portrayals of Mr. Webb and Mrs. Soames. As for Jim Parsons, in addition to having the wrong idea of how to manage the stage traffic, his attempt at some kind of spin on the role of Stage Manager is misguided. His embroidery of gesture and language go against the grain of the part, which is to present and offer observations miles away from any snark-like delivery. Parsons, an actor who is all about attitude—delightfully so when it works for the character—supplies too much of it here.
Beowulf Boritt has contributed another of his gorgeous set designs with an arc of lamps that extend off the proscenium arch and out into the audience. Of course, Our Town would work perfectly well with no set at all (its stated in the text “No scenery”). There’s attractive lighting from Allen Lee Hughes and the costumes by Dede Ayite, a mix of styles from different eras, are relatively plain and inobtrusive.
If I belabor the point about the distraction of the pacing in this production, it’s because it’s consumed me since exiting the theater. Kenny Leon’s peculiar choice of thinking we need to see this day in Our Town removed of its languorous qualities has resulted in two hours’ company with a group of impatient people more attuned to big city folk than those from Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire.
Our Town is at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th Street, NYC in a limited engagement now through January 19. For further information, please visit: https://www.ourtownbroadway.com.
Photos by Daniel Radar.
Headline photo: Jim Parsons and the cast of Our Town.
