'Our Town' cast, crew deliver outstanding performances at SSCC

By Colin Ryan
The Highland County Press

The Southern State Community College theatre department’s fall performance this past weekend was the classic, “Our Town,” by Thornton Wilder.

Directed by Rainee Angles, this play was a true statement of how, in a small town, the lives of individuals can make a difference to the town as a whole.

The cast and crew of this performance executed it wonderfully on Saturday, Nov. 16. The crew as a whole certainly did Wilder’s work proud.

“Our Town” takes place in Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire. The audience follows the members of this town in their daily lives, the marriage of two of its citizens, and the death of several of its members. Two families in particular are the center of this work, the neighboring families, the Gibbs and the Webbs.

The narrator of Southern State’s performance of “Our Town” was the seasoned actor Benjamin Gullet. Gullet was a well-spoken narrator – as well as a convincing soda jerk, preacher and elderly female member of the town!

Gullet and Angles have worked together on several works such as the recent performances of “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Annie,” and “A Doll’s House.”

Another seasoned actor, Bob Brown, portrayed the town’s alcohol-consuming organist, Simon Stimson. Brown’s character may only be in a few scenes of this work, but when he is on stage, he fills the audience with laughter.

Brown’s comedic cohort, Bronwyn Jones, plays Mrs. Soames, a gossiping church-goer. Jones had the audience roaring with laughter at the marriage scene between the two main characters.

Speaking of the two main characters, Owen Stanton and Madison Hatfield did an excellent job in their portraying of these characters.

Stanton and Hatfield, playing George Gibbs and Emily Webb, respectively, each made their Southern State Theatre debut in “Our Town.” You wouldn’t have thought so. The two played a convincing loving, young couple. Stanton had several audience members either on the verge of tears or crying at the final scene.

Elijah Sprague came out between the second and third act to perform a beautiful song. While playing guitar, Sprague did an amazing job sitting alone on stage while singing. The audience let him know how impressed they were with heavy and sustained applause.

Director Rainee Angles has once again done an excellent job. The cast and crew were well-organized and did a wonderful job. Angles’ meticulous attitude toward theatre led the cast and crew to yet another performance well worth seeing.

If you missed “Our Town,” I encourage you to attend Angles’ next two productions:

• “Almost Maine,” by John Cariani on April 4-6, 2014; and,

• “Macbeth,” by William Shakespeare in the summer of 2014, July 25-27.