Our Town On Stage at 2nd Space

Aug 21, 2024 | 2024 Articles, Terrance V. Mc Arthur, Theatre

Want to know about small-town life in the early 1900s? Want to contemplate love, marriage, life, and loss? Want to care about characters in a classic drama played by wonderful actors? Get yourself down to the Good Company Players’ 2nd Space Theatre to see Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer-winning Our Town, playing through October 6.

For a play that’s been on Broadway in 1938, 1944, 1969, 1989, and 2003 (with a new production scheduled for this fall), as well as television adaptations in 1955, 1977, 1989, and 2003, it has a wonderful ability to connect with any generation of audiences. It starts with a day in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire in 1901, played on a bare stage.

In the first act, the Stage Manager (Dan Pessano) introduces the town and its people, especially the Gibbs and Webb families, next-door neighbors. Dr. Gibbs (Greg Ruud) and his wife (Tracy Hostmeyer) have a son, George (Benjamin Geddert), and a daughter (Kaitlyn Anderson). Mr. Webb (Henry Montelongo) runs the local newspaper; he and his wife (Sue Bachman) have a daughter, Emily (Madeline Wristen), and a young son (Jonan Sanders). George’s upstairs window faces Emily’s window, so they naturally talk.

Dan Pessano in GCP’s production of “Our Town”

To no surprise, the talking leads to a 1904 wedding in Act Two, with panic and love running rampant in both houses, along with scenes of how the love grew. The play ends in Act Three, in a place where lives usually end, a contemplation on the importance of moments and knowing how they connect the past to the future.

Cast of GCP’s production of “Our Town”

Pessano is masterful, confident, and gentle as the Stage Manager, not so much a puppet master pulling strings than a kind uncle spinning family stories. Less jokey than his Jean Shepherd role in A Christmas Story, The Musical, and more in control than his Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, he’s the glue that holds the town together, playing various characters when they are needed. Of course, he knows what he’s doing—he’s played this part before.

Cast of GCP’s production of “Our Town”

Wristen is innocent and sweet as the teenage Emily, but she shows horror and loss as she looks back on replays of her memories from the viewpoint of what would be. Geddert moves from a school athlete to a young man who accepts adult responsibilities for family and farm, a journey of growth. Ruud, as the dedicated town doctor, and Montelongo, as the civic-minded editor, each have their scenes of stern, sage advice. Bachman and Hostmeyer provide some of the pantomime that fills out the lives of the town’s characters in a play done with minimal props (chairs, tables, ladders, and a board) and a few atmospheric lighting effects by Elizabeth Crifasi and Joielle Adams.

In a cast of 22, there are many light touches director Robert Sanchez gives his performers to play with. Roger Christensen is morose as a tormented church organist. Peter Nicholas waxes pedantic as a professor assigned to set the town geographically, historically, and sociologically. Martin Martinez can be truculent and melancholy in different scenes. Dorie Hamby is cheerful as a wedding guest. Karan Johnson is stately and serene.

Cast of GCP’s production of “Our Town”

David Pierce’s set design is a neutral canvas for the action. Ginger Kay Lewis-Reed and her costume shop create a vintage feel along with Steve Souza’s wig witchery.

In high school, you may have read or seen Our Town, and it didn’t make much of an impression on you. See it now, and you will discover depth, passion, and words that will awaken your mind.

The 2nd Space Theatre is at 928 E. Olive Ave, Fresno. For tickets and further information, contact gcplayers.com, or call (559) 266-9494.

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.

If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean.

Terrance V. Mc Arthur worked for the Fresno County Public Library for three decades. He is retired, but not retiring. A storyteller, puppeteer, writer, actor, magician, basketmaker, and all-around interesting person, his goal is to make life more unusual for everyone he meets.