The cast of “Our Town” (Ren Nebet)
This year’s Senior Drama Production was “Our Town,” by Thornton Wilder, directed by Ms. Morrison, and performed on Feb. 8, 9, and 14.
This play revolves around the ups and downs of life in Grover’s Corners, the town where everything takes place, focusing on George Gibbs and Emily Webb. The two experience their childhoods together, then marriage, and then, finally, Emily’s death after she didn’t survive childbirth.
In our production, George was played by Jeremiah Milien and Emily was played by Emely Peralta, two incredibly talented actors from this year’s Senior Drama class. Both of them kindly shared their thoughts on the show with The Beacon.
“I would describe George as a little bit of a goofball,” Jeremiah said. “He does care, but sometimes gets lost in his own trouble and life.”
This can especially be seen with Emily being upset at George for spending all of his time playing baseball, which causes him to become inclusive and stuck-up. However, the situation is quickly remedied in an adorable scene where the two get ice cream sodas before going home, where Emely perfectly played what it feels like to finally “make progress” with your crush.
Emely describes “Our Town” as “beautiful.”
As all productions, rehearsals were nerve-wracking at first, but both key cast members loved it and felt great about it by the end. There was a very clear connection between the whole cast, with each other, and with the characters they played.
In terms of favorite memories during the creation of “Our Town,” Emely’s was when she was able to chew out George in a flashback, as it felt very natural to her and was a lot of fun.
For Jeremiah, his favorite memory was when the cast put on their costumes for the first time.
At that moment, it hit the cast that the play was really happening, spreading the excitement across the cast. In his words, getting the costumes made them feel like professionals, as they jumped around and made TikToks to flaunt their fits.
Emely shared, “’Our Town’ was such a wonderful experience and I wish I could live it over. But since I can’t, I’ll just keep going, since ‘you’ve got to love life to have life, and you’ve got to have life to love life,’” Stage Manager Arianna Baez said, both to The Beacon and in the performance.
“I want to thank Ms. Morrison and my fellow actors for taking us on this journey. Being in this play made my senior year worth it and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Jeremiah said.
It’s hard to think of words to describe “Our Town” other than gorgeous, charming, lovely and beautiful.
Experiencing this play was like no other, and it was clear to see just how much care and attention was put into it by the actors, as well as Ms. Morrison.
“Our Town” mends your heart before breaking it, but that’s simply life. In the words of Emily Webb: “Oh Earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you.”
For more insight into the play from more of the cast and Ms. Morrison, check out the behind the scenes reel posted on The Beacon’s Instagram.
Well, that’s all. You get a good rest, too. Goodnight.
