SHERBURNE – The Sherburne-Earlville High School drama club is in their final stages of rehearsal for Thornton Wilder’s, “Our Town.”
The three-act play is set in the fictional town of Grovers Corners, New Hampshire between the years of 1901 – 1913. It is a character story about an average town’s citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives. Act I is called “Daily Life,” Act II is “Love and Marriage” and Act II is called “Death and Eternity.”
The Stage Manager, played by senior Stephanie Joyce, serves as the guide and narrator as she gives the layout of the town and introduces the various citizens. The play depicts the lives of two families, the Gibbs and the Webb’s. Doc Gibbs (Russell Pfohl) and his wife, Mrs. Gibbs (Kaitlyn Briggs) are doing their best raising two children, Rebekah (Meghan Dushko) and George (Tyler Rundell). Mr. Webb (Eric Robertson), editor of the town newspaper and with his wife, Mrs. Webb (Bekah Riley) are also raising two kids, Wally (Alex Tefft) and Emily (Brittany Clark). It is their oldest children, George and Emily, whose unspoken mutual affection as children blossoms into love, marriage, and finally death, that the storyline revolves around and follows most closely.
The large cast includes 40 students working in various aspects of the production. Since this play is traditionally done with almost no props or set pieces, and most of the action is pantomimed, director Colleen Law-Tefft decided to add a Sound FX crew comprised of students who will be making the sounds for much of the action happening onstage. They will be in the orchestra pit, in full view of the audience, rather like an old time radio show. With the help of high school chorus director, Paul Zona, the Grovers Corners church choir will be singing several hymns throughout the play in four-part harmony.
Other adult helpers include set builders Henry Campbell and Bob Cuffney, as well as costumers Nancy Taylor and Carol Riley, with Ann Campbell who has worked as stage manager for the drama club over the last eleven years.
Ranging in age from 10 to 18 years old, the cast includes Kaitlyn Briggs, Brittany Clark, Joelle Clark, Jenn Clark, Tammie Crane, Margaret Dushko, Meghan Dushko, Zoe Enscoe, Elizabeth Farrow, Geana Giglio, Brent Guiles, Brenda Hoefler, Marni Horton, Stephanie Joyce, Claire Khoury, Brownwen Mahardy, Ceridwen Mahardy, Isaac Mettler, Taylor Morris, Skyla Murray, Eric Muth, Haley Muth, Craig Natoli, Molly Ogden, Kayla Osterndorff, Max Pacilio, Russell Pfohl, Bekah Riley, Lulu Riley, Eric Robertson, Tyler Rundell, Emilee Smith, Shannon Staley, Rebekah Taylor, Lucy Taylor, Luke Taylor, Jeff Taylor and Alex Tefft. Eliza Taylor is Assistant Directing.
Don’t miss the timeless life lessons that are still relevant in today’s faster paced culture examined in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” on the S-E high school stage Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and available at the door.