Post Show Discussion Moderated by Valerie Jackson
True Colors presents an Onstage Conversation
Atlanta is Our Town: Where Legacy and Promise Converge
Saturday, March 13, 2010, following the 2:30 p.m. performance of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
Featuring: Dr. June Dobbs Butts and Beau Allen
Moderator : Valerie Jackson, WABE's Between the Lines
Explore the rich legacy of Atlanta through the eyes of two prominent Atlanta families who made an indelible mark on Atlanta’s history and future, the Dobbses and the Allens. Both families contributed to the growth and development of Atlanta’s business and civic infrastructure throughout the 20th Century. The families also produced two of the city’s most impactful mayors: Maynard Jackson (of the Dobbs family) and Ivan Allen, Jr. Members of both families will share insights on these iconic Atlanta families. This lively onstage conversation will be moderated by Valerie Jackson, host of the radio show Between the Lines. Ms. Jackson, widow of the highly-accomplished Mayor Maynard Jackson, is affectionately known as the First Lady of Atlanta.
Free Admission to the Onstage Conversation with any Our Town Ticket Stub
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Our Town response 2/27/2010
In my viewing of True Color Theatre’s production of Our Town, their choices of design was different for that of the original design of Our Town, in which is illustrated in Act I, the stage had little props and set design. There were chairs hanging from the ceiling, a few chairs on stage, and piano. The actor pantomimed the props and set was very simple and unique. The True Colors production OUR TOWN exemplified a theatrical approach with way the actor performed, one actor in particular, Eugene H. Russell IV ( George Gibbs) seem to be over acting, his character wasn’t believable. I really wasn’t drawn into the acting. In Act III, I became distracted by the props, especially with the flashback scene when Emily Gibbs relives her birthday and Mrs. Gibbs is cooking, the smell of bacon was very distracting too. I think that the production and cast worked in the context of the moment by staying to the original script. For example in which the actors Ellis Eugene Williams transforming into three different characters: Stage Manager, Joe Crowell, and Si Crowell, all of the character were in the context of the moment of the scene.
In the play Our Town, Wilder explores the stability of human traditions and the reassuring steadfastness of the natural environment; the individual human lives in Our Town are transient, influenced greatly by the rapid passage of time. In the True Color Theater production of Our Town, the overall theme was to enjoy each moment in life as if it were your last time on earth. True Color Theatre presented the play to a modern audience. Some of the character’s actions were more present day references. I believe that the production was meant to be current so that the people in today’s society could relate and be entertained. I think Wilde’s original intent for the play was to get humankind to think about life, how we live it and how time is valuable. Also, Wilder ponders whether human beings truly appreciate the precious nature of a transient life. Act I, which the Stage Manager entitles “Daily Life,” testifies to the artfulness and value of routine daily activity. Simple acts such as eating breakfast and feeding chickens become subjects of dramatic scenes, indicating the significance Wilder sees in such seemingly mundane events.