As it marks its 50th anniversary, the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) is inviting the community to experience a cornerstone of American theater in a stripped-down, deeply communal way.
DVAA is presenting a public table read of Our Town by Thornton Wilder—offering audiences a chance to engage with the play’s language, themes and storytelling without the full staging of a traditional production.
The event, set for Saturday at Krause Hall in Narrowsburg, is designed as an open invitation: a low-barrier entry point for anyone curious about the play, whether they’ve seen it before or not.
“We wanted to offer something that really is open and welcoming for the whole community,” said Catherine Montessi, Performing Arts Manager at DVAA, describing the table read as a shared listening experience. The goal, she said, is to give audiences a deeper connection to the material ahead of auditions and a full production later this year.
For Montessi, the simplicity is part of the appeal.
“Possibly you’ve heard of the play, but maybe you haven’t seen it and maybe you haven’t heard it,” she said. “You’re going to get a lot more out of it if you audition or whether you see it, if you can come hear it.”
Director Greg Triggs sees the table read as the beginning of a longer creative arc that will culminate in a full staging this fall at the Tusten Theatre.
“The table read is actually going to be planting the seeds for the fuller production,” Triggs said, describing the process as a way for audiences to rediscover a play many think they already know.
For Triggs, who first worked on Our Town as a student, revisiting the play decades later has revealed new layers of meaning. He pointed to the work’s enduring themes—community, memory and consequence—as especially resonant.
“I think community is one of the most important themes,” he said, noting how the play explores the ways people are shaped by their surroundings, often without realizing it until later in life.
He also emphasized the play’s meditation on missed opportunities and the passage of time, calling it “an excellent reminder that as opportunities or desire or goals present themselves, we have to take advantage of them or we’ll lose them.”
The table read is also meant to build momentum for broader community participation. While the reading itself is fully cast—with actors ranging in age from 10 to their late 60s—organizers are encouraging attendees to consider getting involved in the full production.
That fall staging will require a wide range of participants, including singers and additional ensemble members.
“If you really want to be involved with this production of Our Town, we will find a way for you to have that opportunity,” Triggs said.
Image: A 2017 production of “Our Town” at the Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, CA. (Pasadena Playhouse)