Aurora Central thespians to stage classic 'Our Town' Nov. 5-6
Aurora Central Catholic High School actors will stage Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-6, at the school, 1255 N. Edgelawn Drive in Aurora.
Philip A. Nohl, ACC drama and choir director, directs the school's 30-student fall production. Nohl said, "'Our Town' is a play about community in a small town. While COVID-19 has done an excellent job of separating communities, this show reminds us what the small-town community used to be.
"Friendship, family, and love spring from knowing the same family for 100 years. Additionally, we're reminded that every day is a gift from God to be cherished. Thornton Wilder's award-winning play is one of the top five greatest American plays written in the 20th century."
The public is invited. Admission is $10. Reserved seats are $1 more. Audience members are required to wear masks.
Nohl said a first for ACC dramatics will be student designers. They are Fiona Arado, Sycamore, set designer; Ryan Churchill, Aurora, and Caleb Reynolds, Sandwich, sound designers; Alaina Lech, Sugar Grove, costume designer; and Jillian File, lighting designer. Dany Nunez, Aurora, is stage manager; Bryanna Fabian, Aurora, Emma Kleefisch, Millbrook and Ella Wise, Elburn, are assistant stage managers; and Abigail Waitkus, Yorkville, is assistant set, lighting and costume designer.
Cast members are:
• Aurora: Drei Aquino, Hannah Bartlett, Jade Cervantes, Catie Houck, Aidan LeGrand, Elijah Ochoa and Sammi Schreiber.
• Batavia: Brooke Feltes, David Chambers, and Navaith Wollnik.
• Elburn: Mia Ratini.
• Geneva: Kayleigh McLane and Annalyn Steinkamp.
• Montgomery: Catherine Hiltenbrand and Hannah Pawlak.
• North Aurora: Bri Huerta, Vera Indelli, Justin Kish, Faith Myles, Emily Nies, Emma Paris, Ari Rosales, and Colleen Siemann.
• Oswego: Alex Gutierrez.
• Plano: Amanda Lohrey.
• Sandwich: Christian Reynolds.
• Yorkville: Tabitha Withers.
"Our Town" is a 1938 three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners, N.H., between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens.
Narrated by the stage manager, attendees follow the Gibbs and Webb families, residents of Grover's Corners, through 12 years of life changes - from the mundane in Act I, "Daily Life," to the romantic in Act II, "Love and Marriage," to the devastating in Act III, "Death and Eternity."
Through the young lovers Emily and George, their strong and loving parents and the many other Grover's Corners' locals, Wilder delivers universal truths about what it means to be human.