June 25, 2026 – August 9, 2026
“Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it—every, every minute?”
— Act III, Emily Webb
In Our Town, the roots of community run deep: through neighbors, through family, through the shared rhythms of everyday living. As the Stage Manager guides us through these small moments—breakfasts at the table, walks to school, a shared glance—we see the extraordinary in the everyday.
Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town is one of the most cherished plays in American theatre, not because of spectacle, but because of its simplicity. Set in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, it follows the Gibbs and Webb families through daily life, young love, marriage, and loss. A timeless American classic that asks: Do we ever realize life while we live it?
OUR TOWN © 1938, 1957 The Wilder Family LLC
Copyright agent: Alan Brodie Representation Ltd
www.alanbrodie.com
American Shakespeare Center's Summer 2026 Teaser Trailer
Creative Team
Meet Rachel Kilgore, assistant stage manager at the American Shakespeare Center.
Meet Emily Oleson, movement consultant at the American Shakespeare Center.
Meet Kassandra Loera.
K.P. Powell is an actor and director with the American Shakespeare Center, known for his dynamic performances and bold storytelling on stage and off.
Assistant Director & Understudy Coordinator
Meet Megan Parlett, Assistant Director at the American Shakespeare Center (ASC). Explore her extensive theatre experience and upcoming roles.
THIS SEASON: Stage Manager
Haley Fentriss Roberts is an accomplished Intimacy Choreographer dedicated to fostering meaningful connections on stage at ASC and beyond.
Doreen Bechtol is a seasoned movement consultant, actor, and educator with extensive experience in theatre, choreography, and original devised works.
Paige J. Hilton worked at the American Shakespeare Center from 2023 to 2026.
Conrad Gothard worked at the American Shakespeare Center from 2023 – 2026
Amy Monsalve is Wardrobe Manager & Design Assistant at the ASC, recognized for her attention to detail and passion for bringing costumes to life.
Trina Yager is the Costume Coordinator & Wardrobe Supervisor at the American Shakespeare Center.
Grace Easterday, Prop Shop Manager at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA.
Rebecca Bailey is a versatile performer and theatre artist whose dynamic talent shines in productions at ASC and beyond.
Acting Fellow
Meet Bianca Moten, Acting Fellow at the American Shakespeare Center (ASC). Explore her extensive theatre experience and upcoming roles.
Meet Kassidy McCormack, Acting Fellow at the American Shakespeare Center (ASC). Explore her extensive theatre experience and upcoming roles.
Meet Sophia Jane Kahn, Acting Fellow at the American Shakespeare Center (ASC). Explore her extensive theatre experience and upcoming roles.
Marguerite Arbogast, Acting Fellow at the American Shakespeare Center.
THIS SEASON: Swing in Julius Caesar, Pride and Prejudice, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Gray Casterline, Acting Fellow at the American Shakespeare Center.
Cast
Geoffrey Warren Barnes II is a gifted actor whose compelling and elegant performances light up the ASC stage and beyond.
Summer England is a gifted actor whose compelling and elegant performances light up the ASC stage and beyond.
Nick Ericksen is an actor at the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, VA.
THIS SEASON: Acting Fellow
Angela Iannone is a celebrated actor, known for her nuanced performances and captivating presence at ASC and beyond.
Hannah Nguyen, Actor at the American Shakespeare Center (ASC). Explore her theater experience, education, and background.
Aidan O’Reilly is an actor and director with the American Shakespeare Center, known for his work on Shakespearean classics.
Ronald Román-Meléndez is an accomplished actor with over 30 previous roles at the American Shakespeare Center.
Isabel Sanchez is an actor at the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, VA.
Christopher Seiler is a seasoned actor and musician whose performances embody transformation and connection, captivating audiences at ASC and beyond.
“Thornton Wilder: It’s Time” is a short documentary about the life and works of the influential playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder, released in celebration of his 125th birthday in 2022.
Produced by The Wilder Family. Conceived and scripted by Jim Knable. "Duke" David Burger, Post producer. Music composed by Sunny Knable. Amanda Woods, Documentary Producer. Rosey Strub, Documentary Co-Producer.
- 1906: Moves to Hong Kong in May and to Berkeley, California in October
- 1906-10: Emerson Public School in Berkeley
- 1910-11: China Inland Mission School, Chefoo, China (one year)
- 1912-13: Thacher School, Ojai, CA (one year). First play known to be produced: The Russian Princess
- 1915: Graduates from Berkeley High School; active in school dramatics
- 1915-17: Oberlin College; published regularly
- 1920: B.A. Yale College (3-month service in 1918 with U.S. Army in 1918); many publications
- 1920-21: American Academy in Rome (8-month residency)
- 1920s: French teacher at Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey (’21-’25 & ’27-’28)
- 1924: First visit to the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire
- 1926: M.A. in French literature, Princeton University
The Trumpet Shall Sound produced off-Broadway (American Laboratory Theatre)
The Cabala (first novel) - 1927: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (novel- Pulitzer Prize)
- 1928: The Angel That Troubled The Waters (first published collection of drama—playlets)
- 1930s: Part-time faculty, University of Chicago (comparative literature and composition); lectures across the country; first Hollywood screen-writing assignment (1934); extensive foreign travel
- 1930: The Woman of Andros (novel)
Completion of home for his family and himself in Hamden, Connecticut - 1931: The Long Christmas Dinner and Other Plays (six one-act plays)
- 1932: Lucrece opens on Broadway staring Katharine Cornell (translation of André Obey’s Le Viol de Lucrèce)
- 1935: Heaven’s My Destination (novel)
- 1937: A Doll’s House (adaptation/ trans.) opens on Broadway with Ruth Gordon
- 1938: Our Town (Pulitzer Prize)and The Merchant of Yonkers open on Broadway
- 1942: The Skin of Our Teeth opens on Broadway (Pulitzer Prize)
Screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Shadow of a Doubt - 1942-45: Service with Army Air Force in North Africa and Italy (Lieut. Col. at discharge – Bronze Star and O.B.E.)
- 1948: The Ides of March (novel); performing in his plays in summer stock in this period
The Victors opens off-Broadway (translation of Sartre’s Morts sans sépulture) - 1949: Major role in Goethe Convocation in Aspen; lectures widely.
- 1951-52: Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard
- 1952: Gold Medal for Fiction, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- 1953: Cover of Time Magazine (January 12)
- 1955: The Matchmaker opens on Broadway staring Ruth Gordon
The Alcestiad produced at Edinburgh Festival with Irene Worth (as A Life in the Sun) - 1957: German Peace Prize
- 1961: Libretto for The Long Christmas Dinner (music by Paul Hindemith—premieres in Mannheim, West Germany)
- 1962: “Plays for Bleecker Street” (Someone from Assisi, Infancy, and Childhood) premiere at NYC’s Circle in the Square
Libretto for The Alcestiad (music by Louise Talma—premieres in Frankfurt, West Germany) - 1963: Presidential Medal of Freedom
- 1964: Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing opens on Broadway
- 1965: National Book Committee’s Medal for Literature
- 1967: The Eighth Day (National Book Award for Fiction)
- 1973: Theophilus North (novel)
- 1975: Dies in sleep in Hamden, CT on December 7. Buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hamden, Connecticut
For more information, visit www.thorntonwilder.com and www.thorntonwildersociety.org.
Thornton Wilder didn’t write a play about feuds, or war, or the fall of a king. He wrote a play about a young girl asking her mom if she’s pretty enough to get that special boy to look at her that special way. About how, no matter the changes in fashion or the phrases or the foods, we are still people who love to stop and look at the moon.
Our Town asks us to forget the props and the scenery in order to be present with the characters—the humans. Because the bips & bops are different in every town, but the people aren’t. The play isn’t called Your Town or My Town or The Town or This Town. It’s called OUR Town. It’s about all of us; humans. It’s about how
we create community.
We just watched some humans take a little 700,000-mile jaunt around the moon. The astronauts spoke in similar ways. They said this is OUR planet and we should take care of it and each other. It’s like the more we look up, the more we are reminded to reach out.
Emily asks, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it—every, every minute?” The answer will always be no. But we can try. Once we realize that, taking time to look at the moon
feels necessary.
— K.P. Powell