'Our Town' Features Westmont Faculty, Alumni

Several prominent Westmont faculty and alumni are featured in Santa Barbara Theatre’s production of “Our Town” Feb. 25-26 and March 5-6 at 8 p.m. and March 6-7 at 2 p.m. at the Lobero Theatre, 33. E. Canon Perdido St. Tickets range in price from $20-$95.50 and can be purchased by calling (805) 963-0761 or visiting lobero.com.

The performance of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938, features Westmont theatre arts professor John Blondell, who directs the play, and Mitchell (McLean) Thomas, who plays George Gibbs. Ensemble members include Anna Lieberman ’11, Casey Caldwell ’08 and Kate Paulsen ’05. Elaine Galang ’11 is the assistant stage manager. Blondell, known for his avant-garde directing, says in this case he hasn’t played fast and loose with the text. “I’m trying to really play the play,” he says. “At the time of its writing ‘Our Town’ was a radical kind of drama. It has become identified as a traditional American drama, but there are so many theatrical aspects to it — a wonderful sense of shifting space and time, which I love to play with. It also has themes of what are we doing here and thinking of eternity, and when you put it together with a great cast, it’s a rich opportunity for me.”

Thomas says that producing “Our Town” with professionals from our town has been very community building. “It’s been a fantastic experience delving into this funny, haunting and beautiful play,” he says. “Liviu Ciulei says that a classic is a classic because it is modern, and I think audiences will be deeply impacted by the production.”