Event

HHS Presents Our Town

When Thornton Wilder started writing the play that would become his best-known masterpiece, he was becoming dissatisfied with the state of theatre in general. He felt it inadequate, both too large and too small. So he wrote, between the two great wars of the 20th century, this beautiful play about small town life at the turn of that century in New Hampshire. Its an example of metatheatre, where the characters onstage are aware of the fact that theyre in a play, and converse openly with audience members when appropriate. Its simplicity, grace, and ability to give shining moments to many different characters make it a favorite among high schools. Ironically, it is the parents of these students who most closely relate to the stories unfolding in front of them, with births, deaths, and marriages featuring so prominently. We dont see the stuff of legend or of myth, but we do see what makes us, in our small ways, heroic. We see people carrying on in spite of disappointment, continuing to parent their children even if its for one last morning, and bearing up in the midst of heartbreak. So many beautiful productions have been mounted that it would be foolish to list them all, but isnt this interesting: The very day that our production closes, the mega-stars of the mega-smash Avenger movies are performing in a reading of this play, in Atlanta, for some relief for our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico. Thornton Wilder would have been both amused and proud.