happiness of the Gibbs and Webbs families with the misery of Simon Stimson. Is it true that Simon is just not cut out for small town life, or is there more to it? On the surface, Thornton Wilder's drama Our Town depicts the happiness present in sma Continue Reading...
By capturing the these seemingly simple values in the life of a "typical" American small town, Wilder was telling a profound story that exploded the accepted norms of drama and in one explosion catapulted the American play from the nineteenth centur Continue Reading...
Their dreams are more depressing than they are inspiring. When, for example, Mrs. Gibbs expresses her desire to see Paris, the audience knows she will not ever get to achieve her dream because of her husband's stubborn closed-mindedness. Emily's fru Continue Reading...
All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you'd be surprised how people are always losing hold of it. There's something way down deep that's eternal about every human being (Wilder, p.68). Looking Continue Reading...
G) We hear this hymn in every act of Our Town. How might the circumstances of its being sung affect the listerner's interpretation? The Hynm is appropriate just because it is interpretive, like the Stage Manager, the Hymn is contemplative in its pa Continue Reading...
She laments that no one looks at one another, and really listens during the seemingly casual rituals of the precious day. However, it is also possible to view the play as a tragedy: despite their ambitions (George wants to go to college), the press Continue Reading...
Towns, Alike in Dignity Modern theatrical literature has become increasingly concerned with the goings-on in small towns and often largely un-notable communities. The epic plots and larger-than-life characters that occupied plays in Shakespeare's d Continue Reading...
Eugene O'Neill's play, "The Emperor Jones (1921)," is the horrifying story of Rufus Jones, the monarch of a West Indian island, presented in a single act of eight scenes of violence and disturbing images. O'Neill's sense of tragedy comes out undilute Continue Reading...
Trip to Chinatown / Hello, Dolly! One might not ordinarily associate comedienne Carol Channing with formidable erudition, but the Broadway premiere of Hello, Dolly! In 1964 would manage to unite them both thanks to the participation of Thornton Wil Continue Reading...
20th Century Art History's Response To New Technology While Norman Rockwell's 1949 magazine cover "The New Television Set" suggests both delight and humor to the viewer, in portraying the confusion of middle-class Americans faced with new technologi Continue Reading...
