Witty play includes humor, important advice

Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater were humming with interest about Thornton Wilder's play, "Our Town," presented by the Cardinal Stage Company. \n"Our Town," directed by Randy White, is set in a small town in New Hampshire, and opens with a single man walking across a nearly barren stage. There are two tables each stacked with several chairs, and in the background there is a large brick wall that stretches from stage left to stage right. Three frames, two vertical and one horizontal, were suspended by a wire above the stage. The man on stage introduced himself as the stage manager, and said his character will play the role of a narrator for the rest of the play.\nMeanwhile, the floating wire frames distracted me. I thought they must serve as windows, but they were too high in the air. \nThen the stage manager paused, and looking out at the audience, explained, "And for those of you who can't use your imagination, here is some scenery for you." The frames were lowered onto center stage. This form of humor would continue throughout the play.\nThe cast of "Our Town" was all-around wonderful. On opening night, there were a few of the usual kinks to be worked out. \nFor instance, when the first act is introduced by the stage manager, there are two women, one on either side of the stage. Both are supposed to be in their kitchens making breakfast (each home represented by a table on stage), and are calling their children down to eat. \nIt wouldn't have been too noticeable had the actor not laughed at her mistake, but one of the women not only called her children to breakfast, but her neighbor's children too. Later in the performance, a stage crew member dropped something heavy and metallic backstage, which caused a loud thud and a resounding ring during one of the stage manager's speeches. \nBut the cast handled all of these mishaps professionally and the play ran smoothly.\nThe three acts of the play were constructed to represent three stages of life. Although the stage manager presents an engaging discourse on life and how there is "something eternal deep down inside of every human being," writer Thornton Wilder says that his play "is not offered as a picture of life in a New Hampshire village, or a speculation about the conditions of life after death. It is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events of daily life."\nWhatever the purpose, the cast and crew of "Our Town" presented an intriguing and well-acted play about life, love, relationships, and letting go that is worth seeing more than once. On Feb. 24-25 and March 4, "Our Town" will return to the Jacobs School of Music for its World Premiere as an opera by Ned Rorem.