“Our Town”

[rating=3] It has been many years since anyone has done Thornton Wilder’s beloved “Our Town”. A simple story, told in a simple way. “Our Town” depicts life “the way it was”. It brngs us to a small New England town, Grover’s Corners circa 1901, and then 1904 and in the third act ( yes, there are three acts) 1913. The story and the characters take us through growing up and falling in love, getting married and death.

What is unusual about the way this play is presented is its simplicity, which in the wrong hands can lose an audience. There is very little in the way of set and no props to speak of, so when a director takes the helm of this play, he must make his actors truly believe in whatever it is he asks them to do. Jim Masini has done this to perfection. As I said, there really is no set, but what they did on the small stage located at St. Bonaventure Church located at 1645 West Diversey, is create the feeling of a small town behind a scrim ( Emil Zbella). The costumes are of the right period, so a  big hand to Robert -Eric West. The lighting that created this illusion (Sean McStravick) was perfect, but the other lighting was for the most part nothing special. I would have liked the backdrop to stand out a bit more. The sound, when actors are not miked is weak, but Jeff Simpson does make up for that with his sound effects. Yes, while there is no Bessie the horse, working with Howie, the milkman (Ed McGuire), you do feel that she is on the stage. Part of that is McGuire’s truly making the old theater adage, real- “Acting is believing”. He evidently saw the horse pulling the wagon.

The cast worked well together with some standing out far more than others. The production is carried, for the most part by The Stage Manager ( well played by Eric S. Prahl) who not only narrates the tale over the years, but from time to time, takes on smaller roles. The two main families in the story are the Gibbs family, Dr. Gibbs ( Kyle Martin ) and Mrs. Gibbs ( deftly handled by Eva Green) and their neighbors, The Webb’s, led by Mr. Webb ( David R. Feiler) and Mrs. Webb ( sharply played by Marla Seidell). It is their children that fall in love, and marry. George ( a part that I played back in 1959 ,is played to perfection by Drew McCubbin) and his true love Emily by Claire Rutkowski. Their siblings are played by Lucia Duffy and Wesley James Prahl.

The Saint Sebastian Players have been around for many years, and are now located in the lower level ( I hate the word basement) of St. Bonaventure Church on the north side. The sight lines are great although I must tell you, if you have a problem with folding chairs, you might want to bring a padded cushion with you. It can’t hurt! While this play has a story that goes back well over 100 years, the basic storyline remains true today. The beauty of doing this play without props and forcing the cast to do pantomime is essential to them being able to bring the story to an audience with meaning and feeling. This was truly accomplished so hats off to the cast of players: Jeff Simpson, Nancy Pollock, Ryan Kordana, Steven Walanka, Russ Gager, Sharee Peoples-Thompson and  Marshall Mark Jacobson.

“Our Town” will continue thru November 17th with performances as follows:

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m.

Tickets are $25, $18 seniors and students with ID’s and children under 12 $18

To purchase call 773-404-7922 or visit www.saintsebastianplayers.org

The venue is located at 1641 West Diversey with loads of street parking in the area and lots of great spots to eat in the neighborhood.