Our Town

Our Town on Broadway Background

Dustin Hoffman To Was Set To Star

Esteemed American actor, Dustin Hoffman was set to return to Broadway to star in the lead role of the ‘Stage Manager’ in playwright Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Our Town. He was replaced with Jim Parsons, when there was a shake-up in all the executive roles in the show.

Bartlett Sher Was Booted From Director's Chair

The show was planned to be directed by Bartlett Sher, who was also the director on the 2018 Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Scott Rudin was the show’s executive producer and everything changed with the change of management, when he was booted.

Disgraced Impresario Scott Rudin Is Out

Uber-Producer Scott Rudin is out as producer. Rudin had produced countless Broadway hits including The Book of Mormon, West Side Story and King Lear. The announcement for this production came out during the extended Broadway theatre COVID-19 shutdown.

Kenny Leon Is Now Slated to Direct

Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon will helm the new staging of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.

Leon is an American director and actor known for his work in theater and film. Leon has directed numerous Broadway productions, including Fences, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Mountaintop. He is particularly acclaimed for his interpretations of African American playwrights, such as August Wilson.

Kenny Leon Theatre and Film Credits

Leon is also known for his work in television and film. He has directed television movies like A Raisin in the Sun (2008) and The Wiz Live! (2015). Additionally, he has directed films like In My Dreams (2014) and The Watsons Go to Birmingham (2013).

Throughout his career, Kenny Leon has received several awards and nominations for his contributions to the arts, including Tony Awards for his Broadway directing work. He is recognized for his commitment to bringing diverse and socially relevant stories to the stage and screen.

The Show Is Performed In "Metatheatre" Style

This show is performed in the metatheatre (also known as metadrama) style, that has not been popular on Broadway since the 1970's.

It refers to the aspects of a play that draw attention to its nature as drama or theatre, or to the circumstances of its performance. It’s like a play winking at itself in the mirror, acknowledging its own existence on the stage.

Some key features of metatheatre are breaking the fourth wall, actors awareness of the audience: actors playing actors and plays-within-plays. Many people find this format annoying, others are intrigued by it.

What's Our Town Like?

Our Town is a three part ‘Metatheatre’ styled play following the story of the fictional small town of Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire in 1901 to 1913.

The story is told from multiple peoples perspectives, but mostly the narrative comes from two families who have children who get married to each other.

Stage Manager Narrates The Show

The theatre stage manager who choreographs a theatrical production within the main show, cleverly narrates the main production as well. The ‘meta’ nature of the show allows for a high-level, in-depth analysis of the internal production that is unfolding. The characters regularly break the ‘fourth-wall’ format and talk directly to the audience to tell them what is going on inside the character’s head at that point in time.

The Stage Manager Role

The stage manager character (which was to be played by Dustin Hoffman, now Jim Parsons), speaks directly to the audience the most. His lengthy monologues cover many issues including human psychology, general cognition, and the human issues of mortality. It is the last matter that commences within the third and final act of the play.

Is Our Town Good for Kids?

This show is intended for people over the age of 15 due to the intense nature of the topics discussed in the story.