By David Walters
You thought he was gone and didn’t have anything more to say.
Silly theater goer.
Thornton Wilder, one of America’s greatest dramatists, is back with a new play, The Emporium.
And he still has a lot to say about life and about how best to astroclate (don’t bother looking it up, all will be explained in the show). This new lost play of Mr. Wilder’s follows his singular quest to explore the depths of our humanity and what it means to truly see one another, while creatively dancing with narrative structure to keep us entertained along the way, as in his classic plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth.
The Emporium, a recently discovered treasure by Thorton Wilder, completed by Kirk Lynn, is compelling, entertaining, multi-leveled, and a must see.
There are two main reasons you should click on the link below and make a date to see this must see.
First, historically, Wilder is the only writer that received a Pulitzer for both drama and fiction. This long lost play of his was something he was working on in his later years. It almost got produced, twice (Montgomery Clift was cast), but in the “that’s showbiz” tradition, it didn’t hit the boards and got put away, in a box, in a library. Playwright Kirk Lynn, after much investigating, found it in the Thornton library at Yale, and with some minor fiddling and refocusing, has resurrected a new national treasure.
Now lets put the historical significance of this aside and look at The Emporium as it stands on its own for those that just want to see a good play.
Second, this is a great play. It tells a simple story of a young man (Joe Tapper), going through the world as an orphan, who is drawn to working at the mythical department store The Emporium where anyone can get anything they desire. He is stymied by the application process that doesn’t seem to exist, so instead he gets a job at the competing Craigie’s department store which is, “Commerce without the distraction of artistry.” Despite his enormous success there, he never looses the desire within him to be part of the Emporium magic.
Of course, as it’s Wilder, this is all metaphorical storytelling dealing with art, pleasure, delayed gratitude, belonging, and freedom. There are audience participation elements that bring clarity to the metaphors, and several characters (Candy Buckley and Derek Smith get to exercise their excellent acting chops playing numerous roles) have direct address to the audience as our guides on this entrancing journey.
I can’t say it enough, The Emporium is a can’t miss production, for many reasons.
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The Emporium was written by Thorton Wilder and completed by Kirk Lynn. Directed by Rob Melrose.
Actors: Candy Buckley, Mahira Kakkar, Eva Kaminsky, Patrick Kerr, Derek Smith, Joe Tapper, and Cassia Thompson.
Creatives: Scenic Design, Walt Spangler; Coustume Design, Alejo Vietti; Lighting Design, Cat Tate Starmer; Sound Design, and Darron L. West.
Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.
Only through June 7, so please hurry.
Get your tickets HERE!
