CHARLEMONT — That fictional small town, Grover’s Corners, comes to life with The Academy at Charlemont’s annual winter theater production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.”
It’s directed by humanities teacher and Academic Dean Neale Gay with a cast and crew representing Grades 7 through 12.
Premiering in 1938, “Our Town” has never fallen out of fashion and is still produced throughout the United States. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play puts focuses on the universality of daily life; it’s about love, life, and death, and is appropriate for audiences of all ages.
According to the Thornton Wilder Society, the fictional town was based on Peterborough, New Hampshire, where Wilder spent his summers. When the play premiered in 1938, Wilder himself portrayed the Stage Manager, a lead character, for the first two weeks of the performance.
Evening performances take place in The Academy’s Sumner Recital Hall on Friday, March 3, and Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $6 for students and seniors. A free matinee performance will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 4. Tickets can be reserved and purchased by calling the school at 413-339-4912 during regular school hours, or by visiting www.charlemont.org.