In a time of crisis when Long Islanders are contemplating the precious and tenuous nature of life, students at Herricks High School will be exploring similar ideas when they perform Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” this weekend.
“There couldn’t be a play more timely,” said play director Karen De Mauro, alluding to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. “This is about how you handle the ordinary events in life and the crisis events.”
De Mauro said she originally settled on Wilder’s subtle exploration of life in a small New England town several months ago because it required a large cast, with an opportunity to give a greater number of students stage experience.
But the universality of the play’s themes also was a factor for De Mauro, who has coached Broadway actors and been an artist-in-residence at Nassau County BOCES for the past 35 years.
“The great thing about this for high school is it’s about all the things kids care about and think about, love and friendship – and death,” she said.
De Mauro said she admires Wilder’s work because she said he “wanted to be a spokesman for all of us.”
When he wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Our Town,” Wilder said he was seeking to strip away theatrical pretensions of the day, intentionally crafting a simple play that required virtually no set or costumes. The device of the stage manager character, who interacts with the characters on stage and addresses the audience directly as participants in the drama, also flaunted dramatic convention by shattering the invisible “fourth wall” between actors and audience.
The over-arching theme of the play is summed up in one exchange between Emily, a young bride who has died, and the stage manager, when she asks, “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it…every, every minute?” and the stage manager replies, “No. Saints and poets maybe…they do some.”
It was the small things in life Wilder believed we miss. As he put it, “My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it is on your plate.”
Herricks senior Matt DeNicola, who plays George Webb, who marries Emily, his high school sweetheart, said he can relate to the character.
“I’m at least emotionally a little similar to George. In terms of what we value, we’re very similar,” he said.
Herricks junior Sabrina Kalman, whose stage experience has primarily been in musicals, said she finds playing Emily “challenging,” but also identifies with her character.
“Her morals and her relationship with people are similar to my own,” she said.
The difference for the actors, according to DeNicola, is in Wilder’s presentation of the material and the physical limits it places on them.
“It’s hard to act without actively doing something,” he said. “Most plays aren’t very realistic. This one is.”
Herricks junior Sarah Robinson, one of two actors playing the stage manager, said it’s a “new challenge” to interact with the actors and the audience. But she said the script eases the difficulty of the task.
“It’s written beautifully,” she said.
Junior Andrew Greiche, the other stage manager, also finds the part challenging because he said the character invites a dialogue with the audience that is only implied.
“He has a conversation with himself while others are listening,” he said.
Senior John Brautigam takes on the dual challenge of playing Dr. Gibbs and scoring background music as the show’s sound designer.
“I love acting but I’m moving more toward music composition in college,” he said.
The cast has struggled through a lapse in rehearsals with the interruption of school during the past two weeks, but they all sounded eager to get on with the show. They’re scheduled to do that in the Herricks High School Auditorium on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and free for Herricks senior citizens with a gold pass.
