Lafayette Campus News (www.lafayette.edu), October 11, 2007 — Lafayette College Theater will present Our Town on Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. each evening in the Williams Center for the Arts.

Tickets are $2 for students, $3 for faculty and staff, and $6 for the public and can be purchased by calling the Williams Center box office at (610) 330-5009.

A brown bag preview will be held at noon on Monday, Oct. 29 on the main stage of the Williams Center. Lunch will be available for $3.

The production is being directed by Michael O’Neill, associate professor of English and director of theater.

Thornton Wilder was an American playwright and novelist who gained international fame from his works which are still read and performed around the world. Having won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town, Wilder is the only American author to win the Pulitzer for both fiction and drama.

With its first staging in 1938, Our Town traces the childhood, courtship, marriage, and death of characters Emily Webb and George Gibbs. Through their stories, the play finds universal meaning in the ordinary lives lived in fictional Grover's Corners, N.H.

Psychology major Rachel Ports ’10 (Baltimore, Md.) plays the role of Emily Webb. She says she finds this production to be demanding.

“Every production is a challenge. As an actor you have to figure out how to truly think like and become your character and since your character is completely different in every play it's always challenging,” says Ports. “This production specifically is challenging me because of the various transformations that Emily goes through. It can be difficult at times to know exactly how to portray the emotions to the audience so that they understand your character as well as you do.”

Our Town was a success on Broadway. In 1988, the play's 50th anniversary revival on Broadway earned the Tony Award for Best Revival and the 2003 Westport Country Playhouse revival would earn a Tony nomination for the same award.

Ports embraces the challenges of Our Town’s popularity. She says, “It is certainly a little more intimidating to work with Our Town, since it is so well-known and has won several awards. Some of the scenes are going to have to be performed perfectly because everyone in the audience will have seen them before, at least once. This puts a lot of pressure on us as actors, but it's a challenge that I am excited to face along with the rest of my cast.”

She also feels that all members of the audience will be able to connect with the play. “The theme of this play (timelessness) relates to absolutely everyone. College students especially always seem to be in a hurry - rushing to finish papers, last minute studying, meeting after meeting, etc. What is pointed out in this play is that when we do this rushing about through life, we often miss the important and beautiful things around us. I hope that our audience will take this play’s message to heart and I hope people will slow down and appreciate the wonders of our world.”

Cast (in order of appearance)