Thornton Wilder's Our Town debuted more than 80 years ago. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and, over the decades since, it has continuously been one of the most produced of American plays.

It is known for its spare set -- just some chairs and tables, perhaps some ladders -- and lack of props and sometimes even costumes. It's known for its metatheatricality and its Stage Manager character, who addresses the audience directly and rarely participates in the action of the play, as much as there really is any.

It is known as old-fashioned, sentimental, nostalgic and, simultaneously, obviously and intentionally not old-fashioned, sentimental, and nostalgic.

This hour, a look at perhaps the quintessential American play: Our Town.

GUESTS:
Howard Sherman - The author of Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder's Our Town in the 21st Century
Kate Powers - A stage director and the founder of The Redeeming Time Project; in 2013, she directed a production of Our Town at Sing Sing Correctional Facility

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 24, 2021.

Thornton Wilder's&nbsp;Our Town&nbsp;debuted more than 80 years ago. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and, over the decades since, it has continuously been one of the most produced of American plays.
It is known for its spare set -- just some chairs and tables, perhaps some ladders -- and lack of props and sometimes even costumes. It's known for its metatheatricality and its Stage Manager character, who addresses the audience directly and rarely participates in the action of the play, as much as there really is any.
It is known as old-fashioned, sentimental, nostalgic and, simultaneously, obviously and intentionally&nbsp;not&nbsp;old-fashioned, sentimental, and nostalgic.
This hour, a look at perhaps the quintessential American play:&nbsp;Our Town.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Howard Sherman&nbsp;- The author of&nbsp;Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder's&nbsp;Our Town&nbsp;in the 21st Century</li>
<li>Kate Powers&nbsp;- A stage director and the founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://redeeming-time.org/">The Redeeming Time Project</a>; in 2013, she directed a production of&nbsp;Our Town&nbsp;at Sing Sing Correctional Facility</li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on&nbsp;<a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 24, 2021.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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