The 125th anniversary of Thornton Wilder’s birth (April 17, 1897) will be observed throughout 2022 with nearly 150 productions of his plays worldwide—including Our Town, a new production of The Skin of Our Teeth at Lincoln Center Theatre, and a first-ever staging of his unfinished play The Emporium completed by Kirk Lynn (Rude Mechanicals) at the Alley Theater in Houston. Almost 50 years after his death in 1975, Wilder remains one of the most widely produced playwrights in the world.
The year-long tribute, being organized by the Thornton Wilder Society, will conclude on January 22, 2023, with its Our Town Stage Manager’s Day that will recognize theatrical stage managers, with special designations for stage managers who have either stage managed Our Town or played the iconic role in Wilder’s beloved classic. (Wilder himself played the Stage Manager on Broadway for several weeks, and in numerous summer stock productions through the years.) January 22,1938 marked the world-premiere of Our Town at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton. Our Town Stage Manager’s Day is being presented in association with the Stage Managers’ Association of the United States.
Have you participated in a production of Thornton Wilder’s timeless and popular play Our Town that features the Stage Manager as the narrator? Were you on the stage management team or did you play the character onstage? The Stage Managers’ Association, partnering with the Thornton Wilder Society, will be collecting the names of Stage Managers from across the world to celebrate Our Town Stage Manager’s Day on January 22, 2023. Add your name to the list here: https://forms.gle/CwJwDPxt7LTmijhDA
Further information from the Thornton Wilder Society: www.wilder125.com
Further information from the Stage Managers’ Association of the United States: www.stagemanagers.org
