Thornton Wilder One Acts
Pullman Car Hiawatha &The Long Christmas Dinner
by Thornton Wilder
Directed by Courtney O'Connor
Greene Theater, February 8-10
"In his later play Our Town, Emily asks if human beings ever "realize life while they live it". While the Stage Manager replies that "the saints and poets maybe - they do some', Thornton Wilder invites all of us to become poets with him as he gently and simply allows us to explore the beauty of our life. In The Long Christmas Dinner, it is through the yearly gathering of the family we see this simple beauty. As one generation is replaced by the next, mothers give birth and bury their children, and time continues on, the ever constant presence is the family itself. This simply yearly and continuous gathering reminds us, with a touch of the bitter, how sweet life is.
With The Pullman Car Hiawatha, we follow the passengers on the train through their night travels. Once again, the beauty is in the simplicity in how the themes of time and the importance and place of each voice are revealed. With just a chalk outline of the train and a familiar Stage Manager as our guide, the passengers share with us their simple, everyday thoughts. As we travel on, we listen to the concerns and despair, until the voices of the passengers, towns, universe and even time itself time join together to create the harmonious sounds of our existence."
--Courtney O'Connor, Director
