Thornton Wilder's groundbreaking 1938 play Our Town has been almost irreparably scarred by unbearably earnest high school drama club productions over the years. So it came as a bit of a surprise that Chicago director David Cromer—who won an OBIE for his rather sensational adaptation of The Adding Machine last season—would be reviving this old relic here in New York. But since opening Off Broadway all the way back in March, the production, night after night, has been eradicating any misconceptions that Our Town is just a hokey, Norman Rockwell Hallmark card to small town America.
David Cromer, Our Town
Opinionist: Our Town
Most of us associate Our Town with unbearably earnest high school drama club productions, or reruns of that very special "Growing Pains" episode in which Mike and Boner get cast in the play and Mike decides he wants to be a professional actor while wearing a regrettable vest. But Chicago director David Cromer, who won an OBIE for last year's Adding Machine, has come to wrest Thornton Wilder's 1938 play back from the tween stage hogs. His inspired interpretation remains faithful to Wilder's intriguing blend of naturalism and formal deconstruction, while also eschewing the hokey, Norman Rockwell sentimentality that's de rigueur for amateur productions.
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