User reviews

mar this adaptation of the great Thornton Wilder play about mutability and one man (town's) place in the universe. Paul Newman, Jane Curtin, and Jayne Atkinson fare best. Jeffrey DeMunn is a little too "actorish," and the young leads lack spark and pale when compared to the luminous performance of William Holden and Martha Scott in the 1940 film. Not bad, but not great either. No two accents are alike (considering this is a turn-of-the-century New England town)---even among families. If you can't do accents, why bother?

A solid production of this chestnut. Nothing radical or edgy, but for a play like this, who wants edgy? The storyline accounts for 90% of the plays value, so the acting and production values shouldn't be over-analyzed.

This is one of my all-time favorite plays, and I found this production more than satisfactory.

There are only three other versions of "Our Town" available on VHS/DVD, and all have drawbacks (the 1940 version is fuzzy, the 1989 version is overpriced, and the 1977 version is ho-hum). Given the dearth of copies available on VHS or DVD, this new version is a welcome addition to "Our Town" fans.

Paul Newmann gives a _great_ performance as the narrator, and the rest of the cast is fine, too. I would have cast younger actors for Emily and George.

This is a filmed version of the stage play, on stage. There is no audience, and the camera work is fantastic: this was produced by Exxon/Mobile for Masterpiece Theater, and they spared no expense.

I highly recommend it!

I first read "Our Town" in tenth grade. I knew there was something amazing about it, but I couldn't understand, see, or find it. I made it my mission to find out.

Over the years, I have seen literally hundreds of productions of "Our Town," always in hopes of discovering the beauty that it possesses...somewhere.

And here it is. Finally.

This very contemporary, very recent production of "Our Town" is a stunning revisualization of this, Thornton Wilder's greatest work.

The thematic material of "Our Town" is often misunderstood as a look at the ordinariness of daily life and how tedious the mundane is, but this is a short-sighted claim to Wilder's writing, as he provides much more depth and texture than that.

It is biting yet sweet. It is sarcastic yet humbly honest. It is contemporary yet nostalgiac. In "Our Town," life is beautifully tragic, woefully joyous, and endearingly boring.

The acting here is top-notch, as the starring roles are filled by such seasoned veterans as Paul Newman, Jayne Atkinson, and more. Newman especially shines as one who is amused, terrified, and bored with this small provincial place over which he seems to be a kind of non-active deity. Emily's final farewell to Grover's Corners is especially beautiful.

The real wonder of this production is that it is apparent that the production team pulled together to create a solid, collaberative, cohesive piece of theatre that would reach people of all ages, colors, and creeds. All aspects of the production have come together beautifully to create this amazingly convincing work of theatre.

Furthermore, this televised version is a wonderfully rendering of the original stage production. The camera never feels obtrusive, it never feels out of place or foreign. We feel like the audience, not like the camera. We are being led on a tour.

Perhaps it is Thornton's (and the Stage Manager's) brilliant tour-guide-like presentation that makes this work so superbly on camera as well as stage.

All in all, this mounting of "Our Town" surely does Thornton Wilder justice, as it brilliantly achieves what all great theatre should aspire to do: it emotes; it teaches; it explains; it examines; and it humanizes. Do not miss this for anything.

I've seen 'Our Town' on stage several times, dating back 50-some years to my small high school. I've seen it once on the small screen with Hal Holbrook, and including (I believe) John Houseman. But this is the best I have seen, and Paul Newman deserves a majority of the credit for this. He's about my age and I have watched him turn from the handsome, virile, often rebellious leading man to an old character actor. But this time he owns the stage. In live stage, I have never seen facial expression used really effectively: I've always been too far away from the actors. I don't recall Holbrook doing much in this area: I recall a rather straight narrative style that time. Newman is extraordinary. The expressions and the timing added a quality I don't ever recall seeing. The camera closed in appropriately and effectively. And for the first time I saw the Stage Manager turn from the simple travelogue narrator he appears at the opening to an identity at the closing moments I had never recognized before.

(I'm trying to be cautious and not spoil the end. Is it possible to spoil it? Hasn't everyone who enjoys American stage already seen 'Our Town', like me, enough times they can almost speak the dialogue of that final scene along with the characters?)

The play is so familiar that the sparse set comes naturally. This production actually used an item or two that I don't recall from earlier ones, but it still seems right. I was much impressed by the lighting, pulling the action up out of the overall darkness. Some things worked less well, I thought. George and Emily aged, and this was harder to do when the camera could zoom in and show their faces. With no makeup changes, they were left with dialogue and voice to convince the viewer, as I didn't feel movements showed the aging effectively. The same applied to the two sets of parents. Nonetheless, when Emily held the stage in the last scene, she still made it one of the most moving moments in theater.

I am intrigued by the critical response to 'Our Town'. Early reviews seem to be enthusiastic, but some critics since seem to consider it too light, too trivial, to be listed among the great ones like Williams's and Miller's works. But aren't we talking here about the universal themes of life? Isn't that serious enough?

Find a copy of it if you can. It's one of Paul Newman's great moments.

I don't think I've ever seen a production of this play that did not bring tears to my eyes in the last act. It is simply a powerful work and hard even for amateur players to fail in. This production follows true to form. Paul Newman is wonderful as the Stage Manager. He plays the part with such ease and conviction that one forgets all about the blue-eyed heartthrob he once was and concentrates solely on an actor at the top of his form.

I also think Maggie Lacey is very fine as Emily. She plays the young woman as breathless, open-eyed, innocent, and just darn good. That is the way Emily is supposed to be played, of course, but Ms. Lacey does it exceptionally well. (How stupid it is to think that goodness is dull!) The actor who plays George (Ben Fox, I believe) is less appealing, and comes across at times as a near-hayseed. Fox is successful at playing George's self-doubts, but not his strength.

I have stayed away from the Hollywood version of the play, the one starring William Holden, because I have heard that the ending in the graveyard is changed, that it is treated as a dream. It's hard to believe that anyone would touch the text of Thornton Wilder's play, but a change of that magnitude would certainly take away much of the play's power.

All in all, this is a likable production.

I've seen and read "Our Town" so many times that I thought to myself, "Why bother with this one?" It turned out that this is by far the best version of "Our Town" I've ever seen. Paul Newman was a magnificent stage manager. Maggie Lacey and Ben Fox were superb as Emily and George; I doubt that anyone's ever played them better. The ending was so movingly staged and acted that I was reduced to a blubbering idiot with tears rolling down my face. This is as good as it gets for "Our Town," and at last I understand why it's a classic.

I've seen "Our Town" countless times with many excellent actors filling the role of stage manager/narrator. Paul Newman's performance easily tops them all. Although the TV version of Thornton Wilder's famous play lacks the spatial dimensions that are afforded by a stage, the story here is told in segments that are easily accommodated on a TV screen. This is Newman's "Our Town" to a degree that exceeds every other performance of the play that I've ever seen. And, since this is among the best acting jobs that Newman has ever done in his long career, that's just fine. I saw it with my wife and adult daughter (who also loved it) and commented that Newman is still a "mighty good-looking" guy.

As someone who loved the William Holden version, and I have also acted in a community theatre version of this (as the "Stage Manager" character)... so I think I can give a valid point of view on this film. It is one of the best stage versions that I have ever seen. A very interesting way to do it with minimalist props and scenery compared to the traditional "dark stage and spotlight version". I can not wait for it to be released on DVD, and since it is a Showtime Networks and PBS Masterpiece Theatre co-production, I know it is only a matter of time before it is released. This is one DVD that will have a prized position in my DVD collection.

Thankfully, Wilder's story of Our Town can even overcome out of kilter staging and unusual directing notes and even miscasting.

Paul Newman? Yes, he's alright but lacks nearly any sort of personality. The lines that could provide him with sympathy or any form of engagement with the audience are delivered very dryly, with little if any humanity.

The casting? Strange, I think. Both of Emily's parents are quite a bit older than one would expect from a teenager. Gosh, in the 1899 flashback, her father looks like some dodgy 70 year old, and even Jane Curtin is too old to be a teenager's mother.

The script? I fail to see why the producer, director, &/or actors felt compelled to change the script. No, there no major changes, but why change at all? It is certainly not needed, and rather presumptuous.

Similarly, the cemetery scene in Act III is staged rather counter to Wilder's instructions. The dead in that scene seems more like they are waiting for a train than waiting for eternity, and more like a coffee klatch than dead. And they move about quite vigorously in their chairs. I expected a better adherence to Wilder's instructions.

And, when she first appears in Act III, Emily is rather blase. A better staging would be for Emily to show a bit of sorrow, a bit of loss, and a bit of wonder. Instead, it seems to me that Emily is just joining the queue for the train, which will be along any minute now. Just another day.

No, this staging is not bad, but I would have expected much much better from a professional production like this. This production is just mediocre.

This was amazing. I recently saw this production on Showtime and it was amazing. I have seen, produced and directed this show several times and it was great. Paul Newman was great as the stage manager. Thornton Wilder would be proud of this production.....

I have seen "Our Town" and in high school our Literature teacher forced us to act out the play. Because of this, I have a different impression of this TV broadcast of the play than some other folks. For me, it's a case of one time too many. In other words, since I am awfully familiar with this Thornton Wilder play, I really wasn't eager to see it again. But I did, simply because it stars Paul Newman as the narrator...and I'd watch this great actor in anything and everything!

The play is the play...and since it's a play, the dialog and plot should be identical between productions. So, instead I should focus on the quality of this filmed play. The acting is very good and Newman is as you'd expect...very good. Overall, well worth seeing IF you aren't like me...a guy who's seen it enough and didn't need to see this version. Still, it is well made.

This production was not quite up to par, as far as I am concerned. Mr. Newman's performance was too under stated for my taste.

The character of the "Stage Manager" should be played as a more mystical figure, rather than the corny and sometimes sappy old duffer Mr. Newman portrayed him as.

I think the 70's PBS version with Hal Holbrook was far more in line with the characterization Thornton Wilder was attempting to present. Only my opinion.

I think Jane Curtin was seriously miscast. Her accent was certainly not Yankee, but more a combination of Buffalo and Chicago with that fingers scraping across the blackboard nasally flat A sound. A little over the top at times, too. "This ain't SNL", Janie.

As an actor, myself (many, many rungs below Mr. Newman's stature) perhaps I am overly critical. However, a masterpiece like "Our Town" should leave the audience with a feeling that they have been to Grovers Corners. This didn't!

In today's world of revivals and remakes being termed "reinventions" it's a pleasure to see a simple, standard production of a simple, standard play. No rewriting anything that may be offensive, no added music, no grand ideas to do it with overblown scenic, set dressing or prop design. Our Town well known to many since it is performed by school and community theatres around the country and most know the story of the small town of Grovers Cornder,NH at dawn of the 20th century. This production, filmed from the Broadway production earlier this season boasts an impressive cast-Paul Newman as the narrating Stage Manager is subtle yet commanding. Frank Converse,Jayne Atkinson, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Jane Curtin as the four parents show the love they have for their children. Broadway vets Stephen Spinella and Mia Dillon show us the good and bad in all the townfolk. Maggie Lacey and Ben Fox are wonderful as the grow and age as the young lovers. Light and dark come from each performer as they go through the paces of this old play.

I had not seen this play for years. I'd forgotten how utterly poignant it is. Reading "Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett where the character of Emily is significant caused me to find this version and watch it again. While not perfect (some of the casting seems a little off) the essence of it is quite wonderful. Paul Newman is a controlled and striking Stage Manager. He oversees the events without charging into them. The two children (later adults) are pretty good. The eternally optimistic Emily is quite good which makes her parting at the end more crushing. This play should be seen by those who fail to just enjoy their days and grouse about the world, especially when there is little conflict. It's hard to imagine the third act without a tear.

Although this is a photographed stage play this version of Our Town is yards better than the 1940 film that starred William Holden and Martha Scott with Frank Craven repeating his role as the Stage Manager as did Martha Scott as Emily Webb.

The movie made some changes to the Thornton Wilder which robbed the spirit of the play. Without movie special effects and the barest of scenery Thornton Wilder's philosophy about life and death and our relative place in the universe is clear.

Grover's Corners is a small enough New Hampshire town and doesn't make much of an impression on the world. It's not all that much in the grand scheme of things in the universe.

Paul Newman as the stage manager presides over this in good fashion. This is a homecoming for him of sorts. Back in the 50s he played George Gibbs in a television version of Our Town. Now as a senior citizen he fills out the role of the Stage Manager as if he were born to play it.

The young betrotheds in this version are Ben Fox and Maggie Lacey and they are both brilliant in the parts.

This is a superb version of an American classic.