Our Town (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

James Naughton

Writer:

Thornton Wilder (writer)

Release Date:

24 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Narration | 1910s | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Wedding | Ghost

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Jayne Atkinson	...	Mrs. Gibbs
Wendy Barrie-Wilson	...	Woman in Balcony
Reathel Bean	...	Man in Auditorium
John Braden	...	Professor Willard
Tom Brennan	...	Joe Stoddard
Kieran Campion	...	Baseball Player
Patch Darragh	...	Baseball Player
Frank Converse	...	Dr. Gibbs
Jane Curtin	...	Mrs. Webb
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Mr. Webb
Mia Dillon	...	Mrs. Soames
Conor Donovan	...	Wally Webb
Ben Fox	...	George Gibbs
Kristen Hahn	...	Rebecca Gibbs
Carter Jackson	...	Sam Craig

Runtime:

USA:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Booth Theatre, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Line by Line Productions

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder opened at Henry Miller's Theater on February 4, 1938, ran for 338 performances and won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1938.

Quotes:

Emily: Does anybody realize what life is while they're living it - every, every minute?
Stage Manager: No. Saints and poets, maybe. They do some.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004) (TV)

A fine role for Newman

I don't think I've ever seen a production of this play that did not bring tears to my eyes in the last act. It is simply a powerful work and hard even for amateur players to fail in. This production follows true to form. Paul Newman is wonderful as the Stage Manager. He plays the part with such ease and conviction that one forgets all about the blue-eyed heartthrob he once was and concentrates solely on an actor at the top of his form.

I also think Maggie Lacey is very fine as Emily. She plays the young woman as breathless, open-eyed, innocent, and just darn good. That is the way Emily is supposed to be played, of course, but Ms. Lacey does it exceptionally well. (How stupid it is to think that goodness is dull!) The actor who plays George (Ben Fox, I believe) is less appealing, and comes across at times as a near-hayseed. Fox is successful at playing George's self-doubts, but not his strength.

I have stayed away from the Hollywood version of the play, the one starring William Holden, because I have heard that the ending in the graveyard is changed, that it is treated as a dream. It's hard to believe that anyone would touch the text of Thornton Wilder's play, but a change of that magnitude would certainly take away much of the play's power.

All in all, this is a likable production.