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Podcast: New Books in Performing Arts
Episode: Howard Sherman, "Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century" (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021)
Description: Howard Sherman's Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder's Our Town in the 21st Century (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021) provides a fascinating tour of contemporary productions of Wilder's great play. Why does this play from 1938 continue to speak to contemporary audiences, and how does it speak differently in different settings? How is it both timeless and continually timely? And how have contemporary stagings dealt with its reputation as a wholesome, dull chestnut? Whether performed in a maximum security prison, at a hospital, or at prestigious theatres like Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre, Our Town communicates a universal message about paying careful attention to the...