Today we went to Tyler Junior College with Carol to attend a performance of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town." The three acts and two brief intermissions ran for two hours, but we were drawn in from the beginning when the Stage Manager introduced us to Grover’s Corners, a fictitious small town in New Hampshire at the beginning of the twentieth century. The three acts are titled Daily Life, Love and Marriage, and Death and Eternity.
Through the play, Wilder shares with the audience his views on the value of the minutiae of human life and the power of human relationship. The characters show us the need to recognize and celebrate the daily moments of life and the enduring. It’s a minimalist play with little in the way of scenery or props. Wilder explicitly chose this approach to encourage audiences to enter into the life of the town in imagination.
In act III, Emily, one of the main characters has died in childbirth. She joins other members of the community in the graveyard. Our sympathies are moved by the grief of her husband, George, but also wrenched by Emily's growing recognition that during her lifetime people seemed to be going about the motions of life without really engaging on a deeper level with the people and experiences.
The TJC cast turned in some remarkable performances, and the staging was persuasive. We're looking forward to attending more TJC performances on future visits.
This evening we watched Last Tango in Halifax with Dick and Carol. Our emotions were moved by the clashes and misunderstandings of the characters and the near death of Alan. Ken said "Three for three." Captain Phillips yesterday, Our Town today, and Last Tango this evening all involved intense emotions.
As usual, I forgot to turn my phone back on after the play, but later this evening I talked with Edward and Chris.
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