“I used to hate the play,” director Kenny Leon told Broadway News of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” “It was because it was a boring play that usually was produced very slow; it always involved, mostly, an all-white cast. It was in a foreign place that I didn’t know of — New Hampshire — and I grew up in racist Southern America, in Florida and Georgia. So I felt that it was a foreign play to me.”
But then, as Leon explained, he directed a benefit reading of the play starring Scarlett Johansson and other actors famous for their characters in the Marvel cinematic universe as well as actors of color. It changed the director’s entire view of the play and, now, a new revival of the work under Leon’s direction has recently opened on Broadway.
In the latest episode of Broadway News’ audio series “Broadway Press Day with Ruthie Fierberg,” Fierberg takes listeners behind the scenes of “Our Town” with Leon and producer Jeffrey Richards as well as cast members Zoey Deutch, Katie Holmes, Jim Parsons, Ephraim Sykes, Richard Thomas and Michelle Wilson. Learn about what to expect from the new mounting, why the production doesn’t use any props and what to look out for in each of their portrayals of the play’s classic characters.
“Broadway Press Day” takes listeners inside the press junkets for new productions on the Main Stem. Ruthie Fierberg, executive editor of Broadway News, produces, edits and hosts. Steve Rappaport mixes and masters.
Listen to the trailer here.
Listen to the new episode below:
