On November 3-5, 2022, the AAHS theater department performed the classic play, Our Town, a great American drama by Thornton Wilder. It was entertaining from beginning to end, and the audience got to see just how talented our AAHS theater and tech students are.
The story of Our Town is in one sense simple. It is set in the fictional town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, in the early years of the twentieth century. The focus is on two families, the Webb and the Gibbs families, as they go about the mundane aspects of everyday life. In these seemingly simple things, however, lie deep insights into life, love, and death. Wilder’s genius lay in revealing the big ideas that we tend to be blind to as we focus on the trivialities of the day-to-day.
Ninalyn Guvarra, who played Emily Webb, commented about the show, “There was a lot of effort and hard work poured into this show by everyone, including tech, cast and directors. It was a lovely story to see unfold. Everyone worked hard to create something that was awesome.”
Genevieve Newton, who played Rebecca Gibbs, tried out for the play because she enjoyed participating in theater in middle school and was burnt out on the other activities she was a part of at AAHS last year. What she found was a “community that was so welcoming. The experience was a good one with so many laughs.”
Amber Maluschka, who played the role of Mrs. Gibbs added, “This was a beautiful show and everyone added their own flair to their individual characters. It was great to see all the pieces come together.”
One of the biggest twists that the director, Susan Manst, was granted special permission to change was casting the part of the narrator, traditionally played by one person, into two parts. Manst turned to Ellie Levy and Garrett Sullivan to turn this one vital role into two. Ellie said she “was grateful it was split in two as it was a huge part in the play. Ms. Manst gave us lots of creative freedom and it was great to be able to work with my friend, Garrett.”
Garrett agreed and added that having the part split into two gave Air Academy’s version of this well-known play a “unique and interesting flair” and he thought the audience enjoyed the on-stage dynamic and chemistry between the two narrators.
