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"Our Town" Opens 50th Anniversary Year for Theatre
Congratulations to the cast and crew of the fall production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Talk about sensory overload! Gorgeous large black and white photo gallery depicting life in Napa in the lobby, live instrumental music to add a beautiful sound to the production, there was actual wedding cake for all to enjoy after the wedding in Act II, and the yummy smell of actual bacon sizzling away on the stage stove in the birthday breakfast scene in Act III! The production really brought home the message of how fleeting life is and that all its little and seemingly ordinary parts and pieces should be savored and enjoyed.
According to Director, Mr. James Thomas Bailey, "I wanted something special to launch the 50th anniversary of Justin-Siena Theatre, so I chose one of the most-produced plays in America—Our Town—a play which Justin-Siena had never done. It tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens. Napa is about as far away as one could get from this fictional New Hampshire town, but themes of family, love, and death still resonate."
Bailey noted that when his students had studied “Hamilton” during the summer, “(We) studied how the musical dispels cultural baggage to bring history alive for everyone. So through the example of ‘Hamilton,’ the students are studying ‘Our Town’ to find out how our commonalities— our families, our histories, and indeed, our town, Napa, connect with Thornton Wilder’s characters from 1901.”
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Bailey noted that when his students had studied “Hamilton” during the summer, “(We) studied how the musical dispels cultural baggage to bring history alive for everyone. So through the example of ‘Hamilton,’ the students are studying ‘Our Town’ to find out how our commonalities— our families, our histories, and indeed, our town, Napa, connect with Thornton Wilder’s characters from 1901.”
Leslie Odom, Jr. (the original Aaron Burr from Hamilton) recently played George Gibbs in a benefit performance of “Our Town,” Bailey said. “In his book ‘Failing Upward,’ Odom struggles to reconcile being an actor of color playing a famous ‘white’ role, and writes there are ‘more than enough cognates in the universal language of the heart and the language of our shared humanity to bring a collective light of truth to Our Town. The new emotional depths and possibilities came as somewhat of a revelation to me, and I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to test the limits once more.”
Justin-Siena students have also worked with Tappan Wilder, nephew of Thornton Wilder and literary executor of the Wilder estate. “His participation with the students helped to give us a deeper understanding of Our Town’s place in the 21st century.”
James Thomas Bailey chose to open the 50th anniversary season in the fall of 2018 with a theater classic—Our Town—which was also celebrating a milestone in its 80th year. Authored by the same playwright as the 1996 production of The Matchmaker, Thornton Wilder’s stamp runs deep in Justin-Siena Theatre (JST) history as Mr. Morrish’s favorite and twice-directed production of Hello, Dolly! is based on Wilder’s The Matchmaker—and Mr. Jim Day ’72 played the part of the Stage Manager as Mr. Louis Pierotti ’72 (both who were in the first JST production) sat in the audience opening night as newcomers Jadyn Satten ’21 and Satya Green-Cardona ’19 took center stage as George Gibbs and Emily Webb, respectively. And so the program comes full circle. Even from a technical aspect, the shows today benefit from long-time scene, lighting, and sound wiz Tom Durante ’94 who got his start on the JS stage and launched a career in event design putting his passion and technical expertise to use and developing a thriving local business. But he still has time for Justin-Siena—not just theatre, but serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
James Thomas Bailey chose to open the 50th anniversary season in the fall of 2018 with a theater classic—Our Town—which was also celebrating a milestone in its 80th year. Authored by the same playwright as the 1996 production of The Matchmaker, Thornton Wilder’s stamp runs deep in Justin-Siena Theatre (JST) history as Mr. Morrish’s favorite and twice-directed production of Hello, Dolly! is based on Wilder’s The Matchmaker—and Mr. Jim Day ’72 played the part of the Stage Manager as Mr. Louis Pierotti ’72 (both who were in the first JST production) sat in the audience opening night as newcomers Jadyn Satten ’21 and Satya Green-Cardona ’19 took center stage as George Gibbs and Emily Webb, respectively. And so the program comes full circle. Even from a technical aspect, the shows today benefit from long-time scene, lighting, and sound wiz Tom Durante ’94 who got his start on the JS stage and launched a career in event design putting his passion and technical expertise to use and developing a thriving local business. But he still has time for Justin-Siena—not just theatre, but serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
The cast included Satya Green-Cardona as Emily Webb, Jadyn Satten as George Gibbs and Mr. James Day (class of ‘72) as the stage manager.
Also in the production were Arianna Alexander, Jeremiah Alexander, Sarah Barba, Matthew Breneisen,, Esther Cottrell, Lexi deLeuze, Aidan Dolinar, Natalie Ervin, Alexandra Gouveia, Feras Halabi, Melissa Hallam, James Huber, Mia Johnson, George Khoury, Emma Jane Knigge, Piper Knutson, Juliana Kunst, Benjamin Levy, Taya Madsen, Beata Neidhoefer, Alegra Negrete, Katie O’Neill, Grace Richmond, Harrison Schaufel, Amina Schnebelt, Gretchen Wahle and Belle Wells.
Justin-Siena High School
Justin-Siena is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory community that serves young people in grades 9–12.