IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Gita Brown, 401-456-8465, gbrown@ric.edu
Laura Hart, 401-456-8977, lhart@ric.edu
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, winner of the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, will be presented by the RIC Mainstage Theatre Feb. 18-22 in the Helen Forman Theatre at Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence. Show times are 7:30 p.m. (Feb. 18-21) and 2 p.m. (Feb. 21-22). Admission is $15.
Our Town has been described by playwright Edward Albee as “. . . the greatest American play ever written.” Set in fictional small-town Grover’s Corners, between 1901 and 1913, the play tells the story of the everyday lives of its citizens, particularly two families – the Gibbs and the Webbs – as their children fall in love, marry and face difficult challenges. In a letter to Gertrude Stein, Wilder wrote, “It’s a little play with all the big subjects in it.”
Directed by guest artist Linda Sutherland, Our Town is not simply a nostalgic look at small-town life but reflects upon the meaning of life. “Wilder’s great respect for life makes Our Town an intricate portrait of the human condition, touching on the urgent necessity of living in the here and now. It’s not about looking to the past, but living in the present,” said Sutherland.
Sutherland is a teaching artist at Trinity Repertory Company, an active Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) regional and national respondent, as well as a new play development director and dramaturg for KCACTF’s National Playwriting Program.
Our Town principal actors and their roles are:
Stage Managers – Played by Chantell Arrial of West Warwick, Shelbi Escobar of East Providence and Stevie Smith of Smithfield
Frank Gibbs – Played by David Sackal of Johnston
Julia Gibbs – Played by Hollie Diorio of Barrington
George Gibbs – Played by Salvatore Costantino of Swansea, Mass.
Rebecca Gibbs – Played by Hailey Carol O’Conner of Cumberland
Charles Webb – Played by Neil Jeronimo of Swansea, Mass.
Myrtle Webb – Played by Stephanie Barney of Sterling, Mass.
Emily Webb – Played by Heron Kennedy of Foster, RI
Wally Webb – Played by Nicholas D’Amico of Braintree, Mass.
For tickets, call the Box Office at (401) 456-8144, or visit www.ric.edu/pfa.
RIC’s Bachelor of Arts program in theatre offers concentrations in performance, design/technical theatre, general theatre and offers the only musical theatre program in Southeastern New England. The college stages four major productions annually, while each year RIC students consistently earn top honors at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Many of its alumni have gone on to appear in prominent roles on television, on stage and in film.
