Frome Drama Club’s next production of ‘Our Town’ will be performed at the Merlin Theatre from 28th – 30th April.
Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play is set in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, USA in the early 1900s. It is the tale of two families, the Webbs and the Gibbs.
Charles Webb, played by Dave Dunn, is the editor of the local newspaper – his wife is Myrtle (Sue Ross) and his daughter, Emily (Georgina Littlewood). Town doctor Frank Gibbs (Neil Godwin) is married to Julia (Suzy Howlett) and they have a son, George (Django Lewis-Clark).
The play covers a period of 12 years in the lives of these families and the town, as the love story of George and Emily unfolds.
There are a number of newcomers to Frome Drama Club in this show: among them lead actors Django Lewis-Clark, Georgina Littlewood, Neil Godwin and Dave Dunn. There are also some familiar F.D.C. faces in the 24-strong cast.
‘Our Town’ is directed by Cheryl St. George whose previous credits include ‘Mrs Shakespeare’ for last summer’s Frome Festival. Cheryl has lived in the UK for many years, but was born in Philadelphia. She has also recruited another American, Lisa Gauntlett of Beckington, to help with voice coaching.
Thornton Wilder broke new theatrical ground with this play. It is performed without scenery or set and very few props, with the emphasis very much on the actors and the storytelling.
The main character is the Stage Manager, a philosophical narrator who directly addresses the audience throughout. He is played by well-known F.D.C. member Laurie Parnell (‘Under Milk Wood’, ‘Witness for the Prosecution’, ‘Ring Around the Moon’).
This is a rare opportunity to see this Pulitzer Prize-winning play live on stage in Frome. When ‘Our Town’ debuted in 1938, the New York Post proclaimed it to be “one of the sagest, warmest and most deeply human scripts to have come out of our theater… A spiritual experience”.
With powerful simplicity, Wilder depicts New Hampshire life through the lives of these two families at the turn of the 20th Century. But the drama reaches beyond time and place as it explores universal themes of family, love, loss and community spirit. It is a tale that has surprising relevance for today.
‘Our Town’ is at the Merlin Theatre, 28th – 30th April. Tickets £10 / £8. Box office 01373 465949.
