The Existential Crisis “Our Town” Caused Me To Have
On Thursday, we had yet another play preview (a day I was looking forward to, not only because I got to miss a long block of sex ed in life skills). This time, it was the upper school play “Our Town.” I asked a friend of mine what it was about but told her to be vague — I didn’t want spoilers. She told me it was hard to explain.
I understand now why it was hard to explain. The no-props, no-sets, theater-in-the-round setup was very interesting and left a blank canvas for the minds of the audience. There was no telling what time period it would happen in. No preset props to give a hint as to what we might see. The only clues were chairs set up almost as if continuing from the audience. It made me think of “Come From Away”, a musical I saw at the 5th Avenue Theater a few months back.
But, once it started, I realized that it wasn’t going to be like anything I’d ever seen. It was a 3-act show, first of all, which I’d never seen. And each act seemed to follow an important point in the relationship of two young characters falling in love.
The first act showed Emily Webb and George Gibbs at the most innocent part of their relationship — a blooming friendship which hinted at romance, wordlessly, as the children only showed their affections for one another in the way they stole glances at the other. The second act followed them after graduating high school, the day of their wedding. The third act jumped forward to the future, where Emily passed away in childbirth and grapples with realizing the wastefulness of life.
It was hard to predict that a story I assumed would have a happy ending grappled with something I think about late at night that sometimes makes me cry (sorry, I’m an emotional loser in the late hours of the night): the inevitability of death.
Sometimes when I ask my parents about it, they say once you get older it becomes easier to grapple with. As you grow into adulthood, you live your life, you go through joy and sadness, and (especially if you have children) you pass your love and light off to someone else, and you’ve made your mark on the world. It seems to me like we’re all specks of dust in a big, dumb, stupid world that isn’t going to be livable by the time my future children are adults (thank you, stupid idiot humans for ignoring climate change) but some people think differently. Like every person can make a mark on the world.
Honestly, “Our Town” seemed kind of depressing — it told the audience that we need to look up, enjoy life, and love others. That maybe even if we think in the moment we’re living life to the fullest, if we took a glance back at our past selves, it would make us rethink. And this play was written before phones. Now imagine looking back on every dinner, sleepover, and free block you’ve had with your friends. Imagine how much of that was spent staring at your phones.
I think the message was that it is important to make a conscious effort to look up at what you have and be grateful for it. Things can slip through your fingertips as quickly as you can say “I love you” so say it early and often. The world needs a little bit more love right now.
I’d also like to shout out the actors — I only got the chance to see one of the casts, but everyone was amazing, as to be expected in Overlake shows.
