Critical Review of Our Town by Thorton Wilder I admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the play Our Town by Thorton Wilder. The entire story allows you to enter the world of Grover's Corners, if only for a moment. The play immerses you in immense amounts of imagery, created by the lack of full sets. Overall I believe that Our Town is one of the best plays I have ever seen.
The play starts out with just the stage manager, who serves as the narrator of the story. He explains the scenery and gives the setting for the first, second, and third acts, and even does a little acting. The first act deals with a full day in Grover's Corners, starting with the morning and ending with at night. The first act serves to introduce each character and their individual personalities. It also sets the stage for the second act.
The shipwreck in Act I, Scene 1, in a 1797 engravi...
English: Photograph of American author Thornton Wi...
Portrait of Thornton Wilder, as Mr. Antrobus in "T...The second act deals with growing up and falling in love. This is where the two main characters (George and Emily) evolve to be more important than the other characters in the story line. This act ends with the marriage of these two characters. The third act bears a striking contrast to the other two acts, which are relatively happy in nature. The third act leaves us with a puzzling question, in which the answer lies in our own interpretation.
The play is reminiscent of the cliffhanger series of old. A sense of suspense happens every time an act ends, leaving you waiting to learn what will happen next. I really like this play, and hate to criticize it but I do have one complaint. The play seems to lack proper character development in all but George and Emily. I think that all of the characters should be developed to their level, and then Emily and George's characters should be further developed. However I believe that the play can get its point across without the additional developments.
English: Thornton Wilder pictured in his Yale Coll...
Photo of part of the production manager's panel at...
Main characters