LIHU‘E — A train whistles; a rooster crows; a woman scatters feed to her chickens. On a stage set only with black boxes, the tour of a small New Hampshire town begins. Kaua‘i Performing Arts Center’s latest production, “Our Town,”
LIHU‘E — A train whistles; a rooster crows; a woman scatters feed to her chickens. On a stage set only with black boxes, the tour of a small New Hampshire town begins. Kaua‘i Performing Arts Center’s latest production, “Our Town,” Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, opens today at Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center.
Narrated by the Stage Manager (Toby Riggle), the people of Grover’s Corners’ go about their lives as predictable as clock work, with the manager interrupting occasionally to comment on the action, ask the audience questions or offer insight on a character’s background. Grover’s Corners could be any town anywhere.
“It’s a play about life and how life doesn’t change,” said program director Dennis McGraw. “Through the characters and the town of Grover’s Corners Wilder paints a picture of life, human faults, frailties and strengths. The play is timeless.”
Considered the most frequently staged American play, “Our Town” is unconventional in that the stage is nearly empty of props. Actors mime the action — eating imaginary food and looking out imaginary windows — the stark presentation intended to focus attention on characters and themes.
Since the second day of school, students enrolled in KPAC’s after-school program have been working two hours a day, four days a week rehearsing.
“That they’ve chosen to give up their Halloween to perform shows you the degree to which they’ve bought into the play,” McGraw said.
Described by the New York Times as “a hauntingly beautiful play. One of the finest achievements of the current stage. Wilder has transmuted the simple events of a human life into universal reverie. He has given it a profound, strange, unworldly significance — brimming over with compassion.”
“It’s a play about people’s convictions and accountability,” McGraw said. “There’s all these profound insights by the Stage Manager followed by evidence that is supported by the members of the cast.”
Students island-wide participate in KPAC, Hawai‘i’s learning center program providing middle and high school students with classes in acting, playwriting, stagecraft, scene study and directing.
“This is a play all kids should be exposed to,” McGraw said.
The cast includes students from Waimea, Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i high schools and Hawai‘i Tech Academy: Dr. Gibbs (Haley Adamic), Mrs. Gibbs (Rowan McGrath), Mr. Webb (Nicole Carvalho), Mrs. Webb (Anna Hartsell), George Gibbs (Isaiah Alvarez), Rebecca Gibbs (Megan Lake), Emily Webb (Savanah Frisk), Wally Webb (Edwin Furumoto), Mrs. Soames (Rachel Meek), Professor Willard (Ka‘ala Morrison), Joe Cowell (Zack Silva), Howie Newsome (Kimberlin Santos), Si Crowell (Nick Trpkovski) and the chorus: Brittney Carter, Angela Dunsmore-Connor, Roshayne Gonsalves, Shalya Bryant, Kari Noe, Abby Delavega, Shanna Trpkovski, Iman Chatman and Jaxey Cantu. Behind the scenes: assistant director, Pat McGrath; stage manager, Michelle Lewis; lights and sound, Marc Sincignano; technical advisor, Kent Tanigawa; costumes, Esther Manning; Make-up, Leisa Rados; Set: Dennis McGraw, Ismael Cantu, Ron Horoshko, Clint Sparks and Dave Griffith.
General admission, $15; students, $10. Tickets available from cast members or at the door. For more information call, 651-2417.
• Pam Woolway, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or pwoolway@kauaipubco.com.
