With so much turmoil in the world, it's at least a little comforting to know that little has changed in Grover's Corners, a place that gives Our cityThornton Wilder's beloved 1938 report from Smalltown USA, its name. There, people are born, love and die without even looking to enjoy what they have. This is life.
And while arriving in a fictional New Hampshire town circa 1901-1913 is always a moving and welcome addition to an eventful day, Kenny Leon's new production opens on Broadway tonight at the Ethyl Barymore Theater with a cast that includes .in Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes, Richard Thomas Billy Eugene Jones, Efraim Sykes and Zoey Deutch, it lacks the strong personality that would send it to the top Our citywhich have been claiming the rights to perform on world stages for almost a century.
Leon, a top-notch director who has recently created something that is both more exciting (Purlie conquered) and more revealing (House), makes several attempts here to diversify and oppose the era of Wilder's classic, without offering a complete rethink that could breathe freshness into the theatrical chestnut.
Ephraim Sykes, Katie Holmes and Richard Thomas
Daniel Rader
On Beowulf Borritt's wonderfully simple set – all distressed wooden boards, vertical and horizontal, beautifully lit with lanterns by Allen Lee Hughes – which fits well with Wilder's preferred aesthetic of confined settings – a large cast of actors from wildly disparate worlds create a melting pot of Americana. Jim Parsons, who plays the charmingly deadpan stage manager, has long since gone from sitcom star to one of New York's busiest stage actors, just as his co-star Richard Thomas did years ago after his departure. The Waltons (one of the few popular pastimes that can legitimately claim to be competitive Our city in homespun honesty). Katie Holmes has a diverse resume in television, film and stage, Zoey Deutch makes her Broadway debut after a mostly film career, and Billy Eugene Jones, Ephraim Sykes and Michelle Wilson bring some serious stage presence to the show. Downtown theater legend Julie Halston will be present for some of the show's best comic moments.
It's true that few cast members stay on stage long enough to make much of an impression, and those who do – with the exception of Parsons – don't always make the most of the opportunity. Holmes and Thomas are gentle characters, but little more than that. Sykes and Deutch, as childhood sweethearts who marry and come face to face with the final act of life in the heartbreaking final part of the play, do better individually than together. (However, Deutsch does well in his big scene at the end when Emily, after briefly returning to the earthly realm, learns painful lessons in the fragility and speed of life.)
The cast of “Our Town” with Michelle Wilson, Zoey Deutch and Julie Halston front and center
Daniel Rader
This production's distinctive contribution to Our city legacy is a random amalgamation of historical eras and cast demographics. The latter works well because the mix of ethnicities and religions makes a compelling case for the universality of Wilder's stories. The action of the show is even preceded by the actors singing “Braided Prayer” by Abraham Jam, an initially cacophonous mix of Muslim, Jewish and Christian prayers and hymns that slowly coalesce into something beautiful.
The subsequent outburst of a modern-sounding, smooth gospel R&B duo is more irritating than fascinating, and the same can be said of Dede Ayite's costume designs, which reference different decades – early 20th century elegance for some of the adults, '90s sleeveless sweatshirts, shorts and teen baseball caps, and some choices that are downright misleading, especially the unidentified mix I'm desperately looking for Susan Madonna i Let's meet in St. Louis Tootie for doomed Emily from Deutch.
The final part of Wilder's play – in this production three acts are played without interruption, and Parson's stage manager has fun clearing up any misunderstandings – is one of the most reliable scenes in American drama, and Leon and his cast handled it admirably. The gulf between the city's grieving residents and the reconciled dead in the cemetery is both shocking and comforting. This juxtaposition may be Wilder's greatest contribution to American drama, in Leon's case Our city he does with conviction.
Title: Our city
Premises: Barrymore Theater on Broadway
Written by: Thornton Wilder
Direction: Kenny Leon
To throw: Jim Parsons, Zoey Deutch, Katie Holmes, Billy Eugene Jones, Ephraim Sykes, Richard Thomas, Michelle Wilson, Julie Halston, Donald Webber Jr., with Ephie Aardema Sarnak, Heather Ayers, Willa Bost, Bobby Daye, Safiya Kaijya Harris, Doron JéPaul , Shyla Lefner, Anthony Michael Lopez, John McGinty, Bryonha Marie, Kevyn Morrow, Hagan Oliveras, Noah Pyzik, Sky Smith, Bill Timoney, Ricardo Vázquez, Matthew Elijah Webb, Greg Wood and Nimene Sierra Wureh.
Duration: 1 hour 45 min (without intermission)
