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Culture Theatre

Our Town

OUR TOWN by Thornton Wilder, directed by Joseph Ziegler (Soulpepper). At the Young Centre for the Performing Arts (55 Mill Street). To May 13. $28-$65. 416-866-8666. See listing. Rating: NNN

Thornton Wilder wrote Our Town to make theatre that didn’t “evade” audiences with excessive scenery or props. Soulpepper’s production, set against a brick wall with little scenery other than a few chairs and ladders, stays true to Wilder’s modest aesthetic, but that authenticity has the secondary effect of making this celebrated play seem too much like a time capsule.

Set in the quaint turn-of-the-century town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire – the First World War barely a twinkle in the Stage Manager’s (Albert Schultz) eye – Our Town paints a moving portrait of a working/middle-class community, focusing on the neighbourly Gibbses and Webbs.

Schultz leads us through approximately 15 years of town life, most notably the relationship between young George Gibbs (Jeff Lillico) and Emily Webb (Krystin Pellerin). America is on the cusp of change, moving away from the homogeneous and relatively innocent life that Grover’s Corners represents.

As Mrs. Gibbs, Nancy Palk suggests strength even in the face of (what I perceive as) numbing domestic routine. Her desire to see Paris is heart-skewering, as are Pellerin’s 11th-hour attempts to come to terms with the chasm between life and death.

Joseph Ziegler’s direction gives the illusion of a busy town flush with activity. Within the simplicity of Shawn Kerwin’s set design, a clutch of black umbrellas adds visual pathos to the funereal final act.

It’s the pat, valedictory quality that lessens this handsome production. Elegant, truthful and crowd-pleasing, Our Town seems to regret the loss of an outdated society. But what can we learn from it now?

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