13-16 Start of Act I Flashcards
- (when the auditorium is in completed darkness, the Stage Manager speaks:)…
This play is called “Our Town”. It was written by Thornton Wilder. The name of the town is Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire.
- (the lights start to glow….)
The First Act shows a day in our town. The day is May 7, 1901. The time is just before dawn.
- Stage Manager: ….minute before it has to go - doesn’t it?
Well, I’d better show you how our town lies. Up here is Main Street. Way back there is the railway station; tracks go that way
- Stage Manager: …lives in the big white house up on the hill.
Here’s the grocery store and here’s Mr Morgan’s drugstore. Most everybody in town managers to look into those two stores once a day. Public School’s over yonder. high School’s still farther over.
- Stage Manager: …., the hull town can hear the yelling and screaming from those school yards.
This is our doctor’s house - Doc Gibbs’. This is the back door. There’s some scenery for those who think they have to have scenery.
- Stage Manager: …., …hollyhocks…heliotrope…and a lo of burdock.
In those days our newspaper come out twice a week. And this is Editor Webb’s house.
- Stage Manager: ….Just like Mrs Gibbs’, only it’s got sunflowers, too.
Right here’s…a big butternut tree.
- Stage Manager: Nice town, y’know what I mean?
Nobody very remarkable ever come out of it, s’far as we know. The earliest tombstones in the cemetery up there on the mountain say 1670-1680 - they’re Grovers and Cartwrights and Gibbses and Herseys - same names as are around here now.
- Stage Manager: And in the depot, where Shorty Hawkins is getting’ ready to flat the 5:45 for Boston
Naturally, out in the country - all around - there’ve been lights on for some time, what with milkin’s and so on. But town people sleep late. There’s Doc Gibbs com in’ down Main Street now, com in’ back from that baby case.
- Stage Manager: And here’s his wife com in’ downstairs to get breakfast.
Doc Gibbs died in 1930.
- Stage Manager: The new hospital’s named after him.
Mrs Gibbs died first - long time ago, in fact. She went out to visit her daughter, Rebecca, who married an insurance man in Canton, Ohio, and died there - pneumonia - but her body was brought back here.
- Stage Manager: She’s up in the cemetery there now - in with a whole mess of Gibbses and Herseys - she was Julia Hersey ‘fore she married Doc Gibbs in the Congregational Church over there.
In our town we like to know the facts about everybody.
- Stage Manager: There’s Mrs Webb, coming downstairs to get her breakfast too.
That’s Doc Gibbs. Got that call at half past one this morning. And here comes Joe Crowell Junior delivering Mr Webb’s Sentinel.
