« "Our Town" at PRT is very well done »

Rating:  3 out of Fordyce

The regulars know I think Thornton Wilder’s classic play Our Town is one at the very least dull, and at the most produced way too many times a year across America. From the time we are in grade school we have to read and, yes, performed this dreary script that, in my opinion, goes nowhere.

I rarely find a version of this play that I like, but guess what? The version on stage at The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea through the end of May fits that bill.

No one will ever convince me this is a good script, but the cast in Chelsea, convinced me it can be performed well.  Director Guy Sanville obviously thought about this before he even started to bring this show to the stage.  He kept it simple and chose the right cast, starting with William David Young as the Stage Manager. 

This veteran of the PRT and many other theaters was perfect. He does not miss a beat from start to finish and easily slips into the other roles he must play. Ditto for Jim Porterfiled as Dr. Gibbs and Bill Simmons as Mr. Webb. 

Purple Rose regular Michelle Mountain is a delight as Mrs. Webb, and Rhianon Ragland was the perfect mom as she portrayed Mrs. Gibbs. There is also a good supporting cast, along with Michael Brian Ogden and Stacie Hadgikosti as George and Emily. While they were both good, I thought Emily came off a little too “valley girlish.”

This show has a minimalistic set and relies on lighting to set the mood. That is one of the strong points of this show, so hats off to the people you don’t see on stage for doing a perfect job on that.

For a script I loathe, the folks at The Purple Rose get a very good three out of Fordyce.  If you actually like this script, you will enjoy it much more than that.