Our Town… But Wilder begins its premiere run Off-Broadway at the Actors Temple Theatre October 1. Opening night is set for October 16, with performances continuing through December 31. Written and directed by Richard Krevolin, the comedy centers on a 1980s production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town that goes awry.
Set in Irrelevant, Connecticut, Our Town... But Wilder follows a high school student named Bentley Cramer, who is thrust into a position of power as the stage manager for his high school's production of Our Town. Misadventures ensue, leading him down a journey of self discovery as the fragile boundaries of small-town America clash together.
The company includes Robert Aloi as Principal Vestige, Chris Carver as Stage Manager, Ben Elias as Bentley Cramer, Frances Karagio as Mrs. Cramer, Joseph Monseur as Frankie Katz, Anne Nadell as Mrs. Molly Ann Treat, Kathryn Taylor as Ten der Bender, and Caitlin Wells as Ten der Bender. Camber Carpenter and Scotty Kall round out the company as swings.
"I’ve loved Our Town since I first watched the play on PBS as a child," said Krevolin in an earlier statement. "It’s a fantastic vehicle to show how some things in small New England towns never seem to change; from the welcoming sense of knowing your neighbors to the beauty in aspects like the fall foliage to the puritanical intolerance of race, religion, and sexuality. Both works are contemplative pieces about humanity, though unlike Wilder’s play, this play is a transgressive comedy which challenges us to laugh while thinking more deeply about who we are as Americans, both in the past and in the present.”
The production features lighting design by Aurora Winger and choreography by Fab. Jackie Perez and Devin McKenzie are stage managers, with casting by Lindsay Chag. General management is by Edmund Gaynes.
Visit OurTownButWilder.com.
