Our Town

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Our Town

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  7w, 17m

Samuel French, in cooperation with the Thornton Wilder Family, is pleased to release the playwright's definitive version of Our Town.

Image: 2002 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    7w, 17m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
    Winner! 1989 Tony Award for Best Revival
    Winner! 1989 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival
Our Town

Details

Summary

This edition of the play differs only slightly from previous acting editions, yet it presents Our Town as Thornton Wilder wished it to be performed. Described by Edward Albee as “the greatest American play ever written,” Our Town presents the small town of Grover’s Corners in three acts: “Daily Life,” “Love and Marriage” and “Death and Eternity.” Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, the play depicts the simple daily lives of the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually – in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre – die. Thornton Wilder's final word on how he wanted his play performed is an invaluable addition to the American stage and to the libraries of theatre lovers internationally.

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History
Our Town opened on Broadway at Henry Miller's Theatre on 4 February 1938, produced and directed by Jed Harris. The original cast featured Frank Craven, Martha Scott and John Craven. The play returned to Broadway four times: in 1944 starring Marc Connelly; in 1969 starring Henry Fonda; in 1988 starring Spalding Gray; and in 2002 starring Paul Newman.
STAGE MANAGER
DR. GIBBS
JOE CROWELL
HOWIE NEWSOME
MRS. GIBBS
MRS. WEBB
GEORGE GIBBS
REBECCA GIBBS
WALLY WEBB
EMILY WEBB
PROFESSOR WILLARD
MR. WEBB
WOMAN IN THE BALCONY
MAN IN THE AUDITORIUM
LADY IN THE BOX
SIMON STIMSON
MRS. SOAMES
CONSTABLE WARREN
SI CROWELL
THREE BASEBALL PLAYERS
SAM CRAIG
JOE STODDARD
PEOPLE OF THE TOWN
  • Time Period 1900-1910
  • Setting Grovers Corners, New Hampshire. May 1901.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

“One of the sagest, warmest and most deeply human scripts to have come out of our theatre.” – New York Post

“While all of Wilder's work is intelligent, non-synthetic and often moving, as well as funny, it is Our Town that makes the difference. It is probably the finest play ever written by an American.” – Edward Albee

“Thornton Wilder's masterpiece... An immortal tale of small town morality... a classic of soft spoken theater.” – The New York Times

“Beautiful and remarkable one of the sagest, warmest and most deeply human scripts to have come out of our theatre... A spiritual experience.” – New York Post

“No American play describes more powerfully how we imagine ourselves.” – New York Daily News

“No play ever moved me so deeply.” – Alexander Woolcott, The New Yorker

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

The Women of Wilder
by Annette Storckman
June 4, 2019

Theatre Comes to The Public: Bringing Our Town(s) Together
by Rosey Strub
December 19, 2016

OUR TOWN’s Timeless Qualities: 75 Years in the Making
by Tara Kennedy
January 23, 2012

Videos

  • Thornton Wilder: It's Time youtube thumbnail

    Thornton Wilder: It's Time

  • In Our Living and Our Dying: Our Town in the 21st Century youtube thumbnail

    In Our Living and Our Dying: Our Town in the 21st Century

  • Tappan Wilder on the Legacy of Our Town youtube thumbnail

    Tappan Wilder on the Legacy of Our Town

  • The New Edition of Our Town youtube thumbnail

    The New Edition of Our Town

Photos

  • Our Town

    Image: Joan Marcus

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

    Please submit a license request to determine availability.

Scripts

Available Formats:

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Authors

Thornton Wilder

Thornton Wilder (1897-1975), born in Madison, Wisconsin, and educated at Yale and Princeton, was an accomplished novelist and playwright whose works explore the connection between the commonplace and the cosmic dimensions of human experience. The Bridge of San Luis Rey, one ...

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