Date: 05/26/2009
Our Town Opens May 28th at the Annex Theater
by Administrator
Prepare to be transported back to early 1900s New Hampshire as Annex Theatre Company brings Our Town to NIU’s Corner Theatre, beginning tonight. The play runs Thursday May 28 through Saturday May 30 at 7:30 pm.
Regarded by many as the Great American Play, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town tells the story of the fictional rural town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, between 1901 and 1938.
The play’s universality, its simplicity and its immediacy are among the reasons why Our Town won Wilder the second of his three Pulitzer Prizes. They’re the same reasons why, during the 70 subsequent years, the play has been one of the most frequently produced American plays, from high schools to four star-topped Broadway revivals.
“Our Town is a powerful testament to what makes life meaningful, and how most people overlook these gifts,” says director Dan Coran. “The cast’s goal has been to help the audience come to a new and closer appreciation of this play and these truths. I think they’ve succeeded wonderfully.”
Playing the lead role of narrator will be Jeff Little, a veteran of local groups such as Drury Lane (Oakbrook), Appletree, Light Opera Works, and Pheasant Run. He has appeared in over 100 stage productions from the Midwest to the East Coast, as well as several TV and film appearances.
“We’re grateful to have Jeff in this production,” says Coran. “He’s a real veteran and fascinating to work with.”
Playing the role of Emily will be Brigid Crawford, one of two girls who played the role of Anne in Annex’ production of The Diary of Anne Frank last year.
“It’s a pleasure to watch a talented young actress like Brigid take hold of this role and really bring it to life,” says Coran. “Audiences are in for a real treat.”
The production brings together some of the best high school and college actors from the DeKalb / Sycamore community, including Joey Gage (Mr. Gibbs), Christie Coran (Mrs. Gibbs), Spencer Mendell (Mr. Webb), Yaron Lotan (George) and Blair Wright (Mrs. Webb).
“This is a fabulously talented cast, and they’ve all worked very hard to make this a special evening,” Coran adds.
Through the narrations of the Stage Manager, the audience witnesses the interactions between citizens of an everyday town through their daily lives (particularly the lives of George Gibbs, a doctor's son, and Emily Webb, the daughter of a newspaper editor).
The play was recently produced in Chicago by the Hypocrites Theatre Company, a production which has now reopened off-Broadway. Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago also recently staged a revival of the play.
“It’s one for the ages,” Coran says. “Every time you see it, it takes you deeper into what it means to be human, to live with other people, and to live and die in this world.”
Performances will be held at 7:30 pm, Thursday through Saturday, May 28-30, at NIU’s Corner Theatre, located in the Stevens Building behind McDonald’s on Lincoln Highway.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and children, available at the door one hour prior to curtain.
Annex Theatre Company produces plays and musicals primarily for those in high school and above. The group recently produced Little Women at the Egyptian Theatre in April, as well as My Fair Lady in January.
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