Three Plays

A classic playwright? Or a postmodern playwright before postmodernism was the buzz? Wilder has a touch for the absurd, creating characters who are charming while being surly, ridiculous but recognizable, and so outlandish you just know they have to be for real. The settings are a mixture of the realist period that shaped his youth, with set descriptions that would do Arthur Miller proud, but they aren't actually realistic - there's always something a bit off about them. Ladders for second floors, walls that suddenly jump for no reason, just little touches of craziness and absurdism that help take the edge off plays that could be gritty and realistic if he hadn't made them so outlandish. A true masterpiece of theatre.

As I said above, we saw the Lincoln Center production of this a couple of weeks ago, and were surprised by the darkness of the last act. But it's right there in the script, allowing the director to emphasize or not emphasize it. The edition I read has a Forward by Paula Vogel, which emphasizes the way Wilder departs from the conventions of theater in his day, and how that freedom of form affected the writers after him. And there's an afterword by Tappan Wilder, nephew of the writer, outlining the process and difficulties encountered in the creation and staging of the play, along with some photographs from the older productions.

These three plays are absolutely delightful and are strikingly modern. The book's introduction is also well worth reading.

Our Town, probably Wilder's most famous play, tells the story of a Grover's Corners, a small American town. The first act sets the scene and introduces all of the characters. The second act deals with love and marriage and the final act deals with death.

His play The Skin of Our Teeth is a great antidote against feelings of dystopia. It follows a family as they deal with the disasters of an encroaching Ice Age, the Great flood and war managing to always keep civilization alive.

The Matchmaker is the third play in the book and it was the basis for the musical Hello Dolly. It was, in turn, based upon a play by the show more 19th century Austrian playwright Nepomuk. It has the feeling of a Mozart comic opera. show less

I only read the first, Our Town, to preview it as a possible drama for the 8th graders next year as we are changing up some novels. I thought I had read it before, but after reading it, I don't think I had. I really enjoyed the story, and appreciated the subtlety of message. Simplistic and profound.

I only read the first, Our Town, to preview it as a possible drama for the 8th graders next year as we are changing up some novels. I thought I had read it before, but after reading it, I don't think I had. I really enjoyed the story, and appreciated the subtlety of message. Simplistic and profound.

Loved the reread of "Our Town", of course. Did not enjoy "The Skin of Our Teeth", and "The Matchmaker" fell somewhere in between those two.

I teach "Our Town" every year. It is my favorite play, but I enjoy the other 2 almost as much. I was on the prop crew when my college drama department did "Skin of Our Teeth" many years ago.