Arts and Entertainment

'Rich in memory and gone too soon': Centre Stage presents ‘Our Town’

Thornton Wilder's classic play set for April 7-18 in the Playhouse Theatre

Penn State Centre Stage, in the College of Arts and Architecture, will present Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” directed by Steve Snyder, April 10–18, at the Playhouse Theatre. The play traces the lives of the Gibbs and Webb families as they discover love, deal with loss, and come to understand the quiet miracle of everyday life. Credit: Penn State Centre Stage / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Centre Stage, in the College of Arts and Architecture, will present Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” directed by Steve Snyder, April 7–18, at the Playhouse Theatre.

Set in Grover’s Corners, this production of “Our Town” unfolds with the tender, familiar and fading beauty of lilacs in spring, tracing the lives of the Gibbs and Webb families as they discover love, deal with loss, and come to understand the quiet miracle of everyday life. Like lilacs — "rich with memory and gone too soon" — the play illuminates how even the little things shape and define our lives, Snyder said.

“This play invites us to pause and recognize the quiet beauty of the smallest moments — the ones we so often overlook," he said. "In a world that moves quickly, ‘Our Town’ gently insists that these fleeting, everyday experiences are where life’s deepest meaning lives.”

Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. Evening tickets are $27; previews and matinees are $24; and student tickets are $19. For tickets and more information, visit the Centre Stage website, call 814-863-0255, or stop by the Arts Ticket Center.

All prices include a $4 Ticketmaster fee, which will be waived for in-person or phone purchases. Non-Penn State Arts and Architecture students can attend for free by visiting the Arts Ticket Center during the week of the production.

Penn State Centre Stage is the producing arm of the Penn State School of Theatre in the College of Arts and Architecture, training the next generation of theater professionals.

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