In the end, the cops surround the two men, a hefty firefight ensues between the two parties, and Jem gets shot. Doug narrowly escapes and then calls Claire to convince her to meet him for the last time. But even during these moments, he watches her apartment from a distance and realizes that she’s surrounded by cops.
What happens in the play Our Town?
He tells them that they are about to see a play called “Our Town” about the town of Grover’s Corners. He introduces the audience to Dr. Gibbs and Mrs. Gibbs, as well as their neighbor, Mr. Webb, who edits the local newspaper, The Grover’s Corners Sentinel. The stage manager reveals that Dr. Gibbs died in 1930, and his wife died much earlier.
What year does Our Town take place?
1901 to 1913. Grover's Corners, New Hampshire near Massachusetts. Our Town is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens.
Where does the final act of the play take place?
The final act takes place in a cemetery in 1913. It is set upon a hill overlooking Grover’s Corner. About a dozen people sit in several rows of chairs. They have patient and somber faces. The Stage Manager tells us that these are the dead citizens of the town.
Is Our Town a metatheatrical play?
Our Town is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens. Throughout, Wilder uses metatheatrical devices, setting the play in the actual theatre...
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What happens in Our Town play?
This play by Thornton Wilder represents the daily lives of people in America from 1901 to 1913. The first act describes their daily lives, the second act focuses on love and marriage, and the third act discusses death. This play is unconventional in its use of minimal sets and complete lack of props.
Who does Emily marry Our Town?
George GibbsEmily Webb Gibbs The Webbs' intelligent daughter, who grows up during the play, joins the two major families when she marries George Gibbs, and dies later during childbirth.
What does Emily say goodbye to in Our Town?
Before returning to her grave on the hill, Emily emotes, "Good-bye Grover's Corners…. Good-bye to clocks ticking… and Mama's sunflower. And food and coffee. And new ironed dresses and hot baths… and sleeping and waking up.
What does Emily realize in Our Town?
After her death, Emily joins the dead souls in the town cemetery and begins to view earthly life and human beings from a new perspective. She realizes that the living “don't understand” the importance of human existence.
How did Mrs Gibbs died in Our Town?
Mrs. Gibbs died of pneumonia in Canton, Ohio while visiting Rebecca and her husband. Mrs. Gibbs greets Emily when she enters the cemetery.
Why is Our Town called Our Town?
The events and themes that occupy the citizens of Grover's Corners are universal – hence the title, Our Town.
What is the message in Our Town?
Our Town is a play that shares the idea that we live life without really appreciating what it has to offer. Once we die, and are able to see what we had, it is really too late. Major themes of the play include mortality, appreciating life, companionship and marriage, love, and the circle of life.
Why does Emily choose to relive her twelfth birthday?
Sitting with the dead, now one of them herself, Emily remarks how distant she feels from the living. Even so, Emily says, she still feels like one of the living, and against the advice of the other dead souls, she decides to go back and relive one happy day from her life.
What does Emily realize when she relives a day from her life?
Emily realizes that living people don't really understand what's important or appreciate life. They are in the dark and troubled. Emily figures out that she can go back and relive moments of her life if she wants, but Mrs. Gibbs warns her not to.
What lesson can be learned from Our Town?
Lesson #1: Everything Changes (Gradually) Throughout the play, we are reminded that nothing is permanent. At the beginning of each act, the stage manager reveals the subtle changes that take place over time. The population of Grover's Corner grows. Cars become commonplace; horses are used less and less.
What does Emily ask the stage manager with tears in her eyes at the end of the play?
It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another " She asks the Stage Manager to take her back "up the hill — to my grave " As she leaves, she says: "Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you " Then she asks the Stage Manager: "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?
Why is Our Town so popular?
According to theater historian David Richman at the University of New Hampshire, the lasting popularity of "Our Town" " a summertime favorite among New England theatre groups " can be attributed to Wilder's use of minimal scenery and props, the appeal of its ensemble cast and because it deals, at least in part, with ...
What is the main message of our town?
Our Town is a play that shares the idea that we live life without really appreciating what it has to offer. Once we die, and are able to see what we had, it is really too late. Major themes of the play include mortality, appreciating life, companionship and marriage, love, and the circle of life.
What does Emily Webb want?
She wants George to be the best that he can be. She expresses annoyance at him for devoting his time to baseball and neglecting his friends. In other words, Emily feels slighted.
How old is Emily in Our Town?
Emily Webb – female. Goes from age 16 to 20. In 1901 the age 16 was more sincere and innocent than today. The love story with her and George is the spine of the action of the play.
What does Emily realize when she relives a day from her life?
Emily realizes that living people don't really understand what's important or appreciate life. They are in the dark and troubled. Emily figures out that she can go back and relive moments of her life if she wants, but Mrs. Gibbs warns her not to.
What is the story of our town?
The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens.
Who wrote the stageplay for Our Town?
Stageplay written by Thornton Wilder. For other uses, see Our Town (disambiguation). Our Town. 1938 first edition cover from the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Written by. Thornton Wilder. Characters. Stage Manager.
What was Wilder's response to the theatre?
. .I began to feel that the theatre was not only inadequate, it was evasive." His response was to use a metatheatrical style. Our Town 's narrator, the Stage Manager, is completely aware of his relationship with the audience, leaving him free to break the fourth wall and address them directly.
What did Wilder say about Our Town?
Wilder called Our Town his favorite out of all his works, but complained that it was rarely done right, insisting that it "should be performed without sentimentality or ponderousness--simply, dryly, and sincerely."
Why did the Soviet Union stop production of Our Town?
In 1946, the Soviet Union prevented a production of Our Town in the Russian sector of occupied Berlin "on the grounds that the drama is too depressing and could inspire a German suicide wave".
When was Our Town first performed in New York City?
The New York City debut of Our Town was on February 4, 1938 at Henry Miller's Theatre and later moved to the Morosco Theatre, where it ran until November 19, 1938; this production was produced and directed by Jed Harris. Wilder received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938 for the work.
When was Our Town radio?
Our Town (1940 radio), on May 6, 1940, a radio version was performed by many of the same film actors for Lux Radio Theater.
What is the play Our Town about?
Written by Thorton Wilder, Our Town is a play that explores the lives of people living in a small, quintessentially American town. It was first produced in 1938 and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play is divided into three aspects of the human experience: Act One: Daily Life. Act Two: Love / Marriage. Act Three: Death / Loss.
Where does the final act take place?
The final act takes place in a cemetery in 1913. It is set upon a hill overlooking Grover’s Corner. About a dozen people sit in several rows of chairs. They have patient and somber faces. The Stage Manager tells us that these are the dead citizens of the town.
What do Emily Webb and George Gibbs talk about?
Emily Webb and George Gibbs sit at their windows (according to the stage directions, they are perched on ladders). They talk about algebra and the moonlight. Their words are mundane, perhaps, but their fondness for each other is obvious.
What does Emily sense about the world of the living?
Emily senses that one can return to the world of the living, that one can revisit and re-experience the past. With the help of the Stage Manager, and against the advice of Mrs. Gibbs, Emily returns to her 12th birthday. However, everything is too beautiful, too emotionally intense.
What does the stage manager tell the audience?
He tells the audience to get a good night’s rest. The play ends.
Where is Grover's Corners?
The Stage Manager, serving as the play’s narrator, introduces the audience to Grover’s Corners, a small town in New Hampshire. The year is 1901. In the early morning, only a few folks are about. The paperboy delivers papers. The milkman strolls by. Dr. Gibbs has just returned from delivering twins.
Where does George weep in the last moments of the play?
In the last moments of the play, George returns to weep at Emily’s grave.
What Is the Reason for "Our Town's" Longevity?
"Our Town " represents Americana; the small-town life of the early 1900s , it is a world most of us have never experienced. The fictional village of Grover’s Corners contains quaint activities of yesteryear:
What happens at the beginning of each act in Grover's Corner?
At the beginning of each act, the stage manager reveals the subtle changes that take place over time. The population of Grover’s Corner grows. Cars become commonplace; horses are used less and less. The adolescent characters in Act One are married during Act Two.
What does Thornton Wilder say about Emily Webb?
During Act Three, when Emily Webb is laid to rest, Thornton Wilder reminds us that our life is impermanent . The Stage Manager says that there is “something eternal,” and that something is related to human beings. However, even in death, the characters change as their spirits slowly let go of their memories and identities.
What is Act 2 about?
Act Two is dominated by talk of weddings, relationships, and the perplexing institution of marriage. Thornton Wilder takes some good-natured jibes at the monotony of most marriages. Stage Manager: (To audience) I’ve married two hundred couples in my day.
Why doesn't George Webb want to go through with the wedding?
He believes that marriage means that his youth will be lost. For a moment, he doesn’t want to go through with the wedding because he doesn’t want to grow old. His bride to be, Emily Webb, has even worse wedding jitters.
What happens when Emily revisits her 12th birthday?
When Emily revisits her 12th birthday, everything feels too intensely beautiful and heartbreaking. She returns to the grave where she and the others rest and watch the stars, waiting for something important. The narrator explains:
Why does Emily beg her father to steal her away?
For a moment, she begs her father to steal her away so that she can always be “Daddy’s Little Girl.” However, once George and Emily gaze at each other, they calm one another’s fears, and together they are prepared to enter adulthood.
How many acts does Wilder have in Grover's Corners?
Thus, Wilder presents a unified whole — human life summed up in three acts, all of which flow along in a perfectly normal pattern. Wilder reveals a bare stage featuring no scenery and few props.
How does the play "More with Less" work?
By activating the audience's imagination, he stimulates them to conjure up for themselves the larger objects and themes that he is suggesting. This technique of saying more with less has other purposes. First, by having no definite scenery, the play transcends Grover's Corners and becomes universal.
What does a trellis represent in Wilder's play?
This minimalist technique, which he pioneered with Our Town, makes everyday objects represent larger structures: A counter becomes the drug store, and a trellis symbolizes a whole house and garden.
What are the townspeople including in our town?
The townspeople are including copies of the New York Times and Grover’s Corners Sentinel, as well as of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and the works of Shakespeare. The stage manager decides to include a copy of Our Town, as well. Get the entire Our Town LitChart as a printable PDF.
What is the stage manager's job in Grover's Corners?
The stage manager interrupts the women’s conversation and announces that he wants to give the audience more information about Grover’s Corners. He invites Professor Willard, a professor from the local state university, onto the stage to tell the audience about the town. He then invites Mr. Webb forward to give the “political and social report” on Grover’s Corners. Mr. Webb fields questions from three members of the audience, one of whom asks him if there is much culture in the town. Mr. Webb answers that there is not much. The stage manager says it is time to return to the play and announces that it is now the early afternoon. George and Emily return home from school and George asks her to help him with his homework (Emily is very intelligent and does well in school). The stage manager addresses the audience again to tell them about a new development in town. A new bank building is being built and the townspeople are burying various items in a time capsule with the cornerstone of the building. The townspeople are including copies of the New York Times and Grover’s Corners Sentinel, as well as of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and the works of Shakespeare. The stage manager decides to include a copy of Our Town, as well.
What is the name of the play in Act 1?
He tells them that they are about to see a play called “Our Town” about the town of Grover’s Corners.
Who died in Grover's Corners?
As the third act begins, the stage manager announces that nine years have passed since act two. Mrs. Gibbs, Simon Stimson, Mrs. Soames, and Wally Webb are standing in the cemetery, all deceased. Joe Stoddard, the town undertaker, talks with Sam Craig, who grew up in Grover’s Corners and has returned for the funeral of his cousin, who turns out to be Emily Webb, who died in childbirth. George, Dr. Gibbs, and Mr. and Mrs. Webb gather for the funeral, at which “ Blessed Be the Tie That Binds ” is sung. Emily enters and joins the other deceased characters. She asks if she can go back and relive her past life. Mrs. Gibbs tells her she can, but she and the stage manager try to dissuade her from doing so, because it is so painful.
What is the nervousness of Emily and George?
Both Emily and George are nervous about the wedding and panic at the last minute, both anxious about leaving behind their childhoods and growing up. The two realize their love for each other, though, and are happily married by the stage manager, who then announces that the second act is over.
Where is the setting of Grover's Corners?
He identifies the setting of the play as Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire on May 7, 1901.
What is the importance of the ordinary form in the play?
The stage manager’s thoughts on the importance of the ordinary form one of the central messages of the play , which carefully documents mundane, ordinary events and people. The play suggests, just as the stage manager does, that “a few simple facts” can do more to convey what life is actually like than knowledge of major historical events or headlines can. The time capsule itself shows citizens thinking about the passage of time, realizing that their lives will one day be long-gone relics of history.
What does Simon Stimson tell the choir?
Simon Stimson tells the choir that they will be singing at an upcoming wedding and will use the same music they did for the last wedding they sang at. Dr. Gibbs calls George downstairs and asks him what he wants to do once he graduates from high school. George tells him he plans to work on his uncle’s farm.
What is the theme of the movie "The Morning is Just Beginning"?
Active Themes. Related Quotes with Explanations. The morning is just beginning, and Dr. Gibbs is returning to his house after helping a mother in the Polish neighborhood of town give birth to twins. Mrs. Gibbs walks into her kitchen and begins preparing breakfast. The stage manager tells the audience that Dr. Gibbs died in 1930, long after Mrs.
Why is the stage manager interested in Grover's Corners?
The play is interested in Grover’s Corners precisely because it is so ordinary. The lack of props or backdrops for the town emphasizes the fact that the play is not real.
What does the stage manager interrupt to emphasize?
Just as the audience is starting to immerse themselves in the world of the play and willingly believe in the theater’s illusionary representation of a “real” day, the stage manager interrupts to emphasize that this is merely a staged play. Like the stage manager, Professor Willard is somehow a character in the play’s world who also realizes that he is in a play with an audience.
What does the stage manager show the audience?
The stage manager shows the audience the layout of the city on the stage —almost none of which is actually marked by props of any kind—including its several churches, town hall and post office (combined in one building), schools, grocery store, and drugstore. He points out Dr. Gibbs’ house and Mrs. Gibbs’ garden, as well as the house of Mr. Webb, the editor of Grover’s Corners’ local newspaper. He says that the town is nice, but unremarkable.
How many things are mentioned to describe the stage manager's appearance?from quizlet.com
Only two things are mentioned to describe the stage manager's appearance. What?
Is there much culture in Grover's Corners?from quizlet.com
There isn't much culture in Grover's Corners but what are three things the town pays attention to?
What is George's role in the last act?from cliffsnotes.com
As soon as he sees Emily, he recognizes the strength of his love for her and willingly plunges into adulthood. George's role in the last act is small, yet intensely effective. He has succeeded as a farmer.
What does George do at night in Emily's grave?from cliffsnotes.com
Coming at night to Emily's grave, he demonstrates his deep and sincere love for her. By throwing himself abjectly across the newly dug grave, he expresses without words his devotion to the woman who has been the center of his life. George functions in the play as a representative American.
What does Rebecca tell George about the Crofut farm?from litcharts.com
The stage manager tells the audience that it... (full context) Upstairs in the Gibbs home, Rebecca tells George about a letter her friend received with the address, “Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s... (full context) Act 2. ...newspaper in Grover’s Corners.
What is George in Act 1?from cliffsnotes.com
George functions in the play as a representative American. In Act I, rather than create a distinct individual, Wilder spotlights traits characteristic of youth in general. Even as an adult, George is an ordinary man performing ordinary tasks.
Overview
Our Town is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens.
Throughout, Wilder uses metatheatrical devices, setting the play in the actual t…
Synopsis
The Stage Manager introduces the audience to the small town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, and the people living there as a morning begins in the year 1901. Joe Crowell delivers the paper to Doc Gibbs, Howie Newsome delivers the milk, and the Webb and Gibbs households send their children (Emily and Wally Webb, George and Rebecca Gibbs) off to school on this beautifully s…
Characters
• Stage Manager – a narrator, commentator, and guide through Grover's Corners. He joins in the action of the play periodically, as the minister at the wedding, the soda shop owner, a local townsman, etc., and speaks directly to Emily after her death.
• Emily Webb – one of the main characters; we follow her from a precocious young girl through her wedding to George Gibbs and her early death.
Composition
Wilder began making notes for the play while he was teaching and lecturing in Chicago in the 1930s. A constant traveler, he wrote it everywhere he went. In June 1937, he stayed in the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, one of the many locations where he worked on the play. It is believed Wilder drafted the entire third act during a visit to Zürich in September 1937, in one day, after a long evening walk in the rain with a friend, author Samuel Morris Steward.
Setting
The play is set in the actual theatre where the play is being performed, but the date is always May 7, 1901. The Stage Manager of the May 7, 1901, production introduces the play-within-the-play which is set in the fictional community of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. The Stage Manager gives the coordinates of Grover's Corners as 42°40′ north latitude and 70°37′ west longitude (those coordinates are actually in Massachusetts, about a thousand feet off the coast of Rockport), …
Style
Wilder was dissatisfied with the theatre of his time: "I felt that something had gone wrong. . .I began to feel that the theatre was not only inadequate, it was evasive." His response was to use a metatheatrical style. Our Town's narrator, the Stage Manager, is completely aware of his relationship with the audience, leaving him free to break the fourth wall and address them directly.
According to the script, the play is to be performed with little scenery, no set and minimal props. …
Production history
Our Town was first performed at McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 22, 1938.
It next opened at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, on January 25, 1938.
The New York City debut of Our Town was on February 4, 1938, at Henry Miller's Theatre and later moved to the Morosco Theatre, where it ran until November 1…
Awards
• 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. On May 2, 1938, Thornton Wilder won the prize of $1,000 "for the original American play. . .which shall represent in marked fashion the educational value and power of the stage, preferably dealing with the American life."
• 1989 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival
Act One
The Gibbs Family
- Dr. Gibbs: Hardworking, soft-spoken, disciplined.
- Mrs. Gibbs: The Doctor’s wife. She believes her husband is overworked and should take a vacation.
- George: Their son. Energetic, friendly, sincere.
- Rebecca: George’s little sister.
The Webb Family
- Mr. Webb: Runs the town’s newspaper.
- Mrs. Webb: Strict but loving to her children.
- Emily Webb: Their daughter. Bright, hopeful and idealistic.
- Wally Webb: Her younger brother.
Some of Act One’S More Compelling Moments
- Dr. Gibbs calmly chastises his son for forgetting to chop firewood. When George has tears in his eyes, he hands him a handkerchief and the matter is resolved.
- Simon Stimson, the church organist, leads the church choir while intoxicated. He staggers home drunk and deeply troubled. The constable and Mr. Webb try to assist him, but Stimson wanders away. Web...
- Dr. Gibbs calmly chastises his son for forgetting to chop firewood. When George has tears in his eyes, he hands him a handkerchief and the matter is resolved.
- Simon Stimson, the church organist, leads the church choir while intoxicated. He staggers home drunk and deeply troubled. The constable and Mr. Webb try to assist him, but Stimson wanders away. Web...
- Emily Webb and George Gibbs sit at their windows (according to the stage directions, they are perched on ladders). They talk about algebra and the moonlight. Their words are mundane, perhaps, but t...
- Rebecca tells her brother a funny story about a letter Jane Crofut received from a minister. It was addressed: Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampsh…
Act Two
- The Stage Manager explains that three years have passed. It is the wedding day of George and Emily. The Webb and Gibbs parents lament how their children have grown so quickly. George and Mr. Webb, his soon-to-be father-in-law, awkwardly converse about the futility of marital advice. Before the wedding commences, the Stage Manager wonders how it all began, both this specifi…
Act Three
- The final act takes place in a cemeteryin 1913. It is set upon a hill overlooking Grover’s Corner. About a dozen people sit in several rows of chairs. They have patient and somber faces. The Stage Manager tells us that these are the dead citizens of the town. Among the recent arrivals are: 1. Mrs. Gibbs: Died of pneumonia while visiting her daughter. 2. Wally Webb: Died young. His ap…