A New Translation of OUR TOWN

[A Director]

Posted: 11/25/20 at 11:09pm

With endless postings about who can or cannot play roles, here is some information about a new translation of OUR TOWN.  The floor is open.

https://www.thorntonwilder.com/blog/2020/11/5/our-town-with-translations-by-nilo-cruz-and-jeff-augustin-now-available-in-acting-edition

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/25/20 at 11:18pm

Very cool. And yes, it is the greatest play ever written. I doubt any production could ever come close to the 1977 filmed version, but it’ll be great to see different takes on it.

Just don’t f*ck with the staging.

[bk]

Posted: 11/26/20 at 12:38am

I wasn't aware that Our Town was written in a foreign language, so I'm not understanding "translation."

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/26/20 at 1:00am

bk said: "I wasn't aware that Our Town was written in a foreign language, so I'm not understanding "translation.""

 

I was a bit confused for the same reason when I first saw the thread title, but if you click the link that the OP kindly provided, it offers some clarity. 

[A Director]

Posted: 11/26/20 at 1:55am

Jordan Catalano said: "Very cool. And yes, it is the greatest play ever written. I doubt any production could ever come close to the 1977 filmed version, but it’ll be great to see different takes on it.

Just don’t f*ck with the staging."

This production closed in 2017. The script is now available for anything to do. I sort of remember the 1977 production, but the one to beat is the 1989 Lincoln Center production.  Here's a short clip of the opening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4B5c5xi8J8

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 11/26/20 at 3:31am

Baffling to call this a translation. My assumption would be that it would hurt rather than help the show to make it "more universal" by removing Grover's Corners from its own narrow, specific identity, but as everyone here who has seen it is singing the praises of this version, it must work very well, after all.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/26/20 at 8:20am

A Director said: "
I sort of remember the 1977 production, but the one to beat is the 1989 Lincoln Center production.”

I do know that production very well but I don’t think it comes close to the Holbrook one  

1977 OUR TOWN

 

 

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/26/20 at 9:08am

bk said: "I wasn't aware that Our Town was written in a foreign language, so I'm not understanding "translation.""

Perhaps it will also surprise you to learn that not everyone speaks English.

[A Director]

Posted: 11/26/20 at 3:22pm

joevitus said: "Baffling to call this a translation. My assumption would bethat it would hurt rather than help the show to make it "more universal" by removing Grover's Corners from its own narrow, specific identity, but as everyonehere who has seen it issinging the praises of this version, it must work very well, after all."

This production was set in Grover's Corners from 1901 to 1913 and the actors wore period costumes. The story did not change.  It was still OUR TOWN.  The one difference, at home, one family spoke Spanish and the other family spoke Creole; the rest of the play was in English.

I've seen pictures of a production in Japan translated into Japanese.  It was still OUR TOWN.

There's a wonderful documentary, OT: OUR TOWN, about a school production with Black and Latinx students in the cast. At the beginning, the students think the play has nothing to do with them; by the end, they learn it does.  The production was still OUR TOWN.

OUR TOWN has been performed in many languages around the world. These productions were still OUR TOWN.

On the surface, the play looks like a picture of a small New Hampshire town in the early 20th century. Take time to look deeper; the play is about much more.

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/27/20 at 12:23pm

Interesting enough, I suppose.. My only thought is you'd have a pretty small audience pool that would under all three languages.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/27/20 at 12:24pm

Interesting enough, I suppose.. My only thought is you'd have a pretty small audience pool that would under all three languages.