“Our Town”: 91% Sweet – UPDATED

Lindsley Allen and Chris Schultz in "Our Town." Photo by Jean-Louis Darville

BITTERSWEET
The jury’s still out on “Our Town”: Is it a high school staple for a reason, or a victim of sentimentalists? The new production of Thornton Wilder’s 1937 classic at the Actors’ Gang doesn’t exactly settle that question. Clocking in at nearly three hours, Justin Zsebe’s staging showcases what’s best and worst about both Wilder and the Gang: passion, experiment and the distracting tendency to comment on a scene instead of just playing it.
Charlotte Stoudt – LA Times

SWEET
Yes, the Actors’ Gang primarily produces cutting-edge theatre, long based in the Gang’s particular “style.” But the Culver City company proves its versatility and its respect for storytelling with a riveting and visually stunning version of Thornton Wilder’s 1938, three-act classic—without sacrificing signature Gang touches. This Our Town is heavier on sarcasm than sentimentality, and it pushes more comedy and politics—with mixed results. But Steven M. Porter’s masterful turn as the Stage Manager, and director Justin Zsebe’s staging of the third act are unforgettable.
Jeff Favre – Backstage

BITTER
The Actors’ Gang certainly infuses its mandate to promote “daring interpretations of the classics” into its staging of one of the most iconic works of the American theater. Unfortunately, helmer Justin Zsebe’s random rendering of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 sojourn within a fin de secle New Hampshire village obliterates the scripter’s intention to evoke the simple truths and eternal connections gleaned from the rituals of small-town daily life. Instead, a plethora of caricaturized portrayals and arbitrary stage business, including a monumentally inappropriate Cirque du Soleil-ish acrobatic routine, reduce “Our Town” to the level of erratic scenic commentary.
Julio Martinez – Variety

SWEET
Just when one thinks there is nothing more that can be mined from this perennial gem, there’s always a production that comes around that challenges this. Under the sharp, sensitive direction of Justin Zsebe, the cast reintroduces the beloved townsfolk through a fresh, unsentimental perspective. With specific choices, the complexities of the characters resonate without patronizing their idyllic, homespun values. No subtly in the text is missed, it is exposed, and the play’s humor, tension, and humanity is fully realized as if blowing dust from the cover of an old, but favorite book.
MR Hunter – Stagehappenings

SWEET
This character driven play works wonderfully well because Director Justin Zsebe guides the large cast with close reverence to Thornton Wilder’s original intent. The actors embody the spirit of the small town residents and soon the audience is caught up in their lives, simple though they may seem.
Jose Ruiz – Reviewplays

BITTERSWEET
Last night I saw a production of Our Town by Thornton Wilder, that wonderful celebration of the mundane that, done well, can elevate the everyday to glorious heights. The play was presented by The Actors’ Gang at the Ivy Substation in Culver City. The marriage of this play with the Gang’s toned-down Commedia Dell’Arte “style” missed the point in a lot of ways, but also brought out some ideas nicely.
Geoff Hoff – LA Theatre Review

SWEET
Justin Zsebe’s adroit and subtle direction gives the audience a deeper insight into this thought-provoking play. Will Pellegrini’s creative yet minimalist set design also provides the attentive audience member many non-verbal clues to the play’s underlying themes. What Pellegrini does with the graveyard in Act III is nothing short of inspired. The dead population of Grover’s Corners are all suspended on swings, to symbolize their state of limbo – they are not yet in heaven, but their feet have already left the ground.
This show is perhaps not the best The Actors’ Gang theater has ever produced, but audiences can be assured that the shows they do there never veer too far south of brilliant. “Our Town” is undeniably a great way for discerning theater-goers to brush up on their Thornton Wilder.
Marianne Fritz – Socal.com

SWEET
This is a lovely, well-acted production that reminds us of a simpler time, a simpler way of life and the values of family that we often miss while we are still alive. Does Mrs. Gibbs regret not going to Paris or did she finally find she was satisfied with the life she had in Grover’s Corner? Did she just live life or pursue it? And what do we miss as every minute goes by? You don’t need pie to savor those thoughts on the way home.
Jana J. Monji – LA Examiner

SWEET
Lest I delay my impressions for you of this production, I will simply state now- go see it; it can change your life.
Ralph Powell – Culver City Observer

SWEET
Our Town insists that everyday life is full of miracles, and that we should value each and every moment, and it is in this transcendental sense that I cherish the experience of seeing the Gang’s thought-and emotion-provoking production of this classic.
Ed Rampell – Jesther Entertainment

SWEET
But all in all, their Our Town is enormously audience-pleasing with shout-outs, applause, and much laughter. If you’ve never seen Our Town, you must.
Clare Elfman – Buzzine

SWEET
Yet the ensemble work is deft and subtle — and moments that are often corny in other, lesser productions evoke laughter and tears here — from the beautiful scene in which Ma Webb (Lindsley Allen) and Ma Gibbs (Annemette Andersen) shuck their peas, to the touching one in which Schultz’s George suffers his wedding night–cum–fear of mortality jitters at the altar.
Paul Birchall – LA Weekly

SWEET
The classic text is in good hands at The Actors’ Gang, where the company handles Wilder’s words and sentiments with homespun care. The sound effects and imagined scenery of the play are part and parcel of its unadorned charm, and this production goes full-tilt folksy, a powerful, dead-on decision. In his original text, Wilder outlined his preference for conjuring the clop-clop of cow hooves, the clanging of school bells, the clinking of old-fashioned milk bottles and the vocalizations of various farm animals via a tools-in-hand gaggle of off-stage actors. The Gang opts for this live sound effects option, a choice made stronger by the glimpses we catch of the noise-making team through cracks in the curtain when actors enter and exit the mostly bare stage.
Amy Lyons – Santa Monica Mirror