McQuaid Jesuit’s fall production of Our Town by Thorton Wilder was wildly successful, as every night attendance increased.

The play included three acts and had over 30 people acting in and helping with the production.

The play was about two neighboring families, the Webbs and the Gibbs.  A child of each family, Emily Webb and George Gibbs, fall in love. In the last act, Emily dies and her life after death is shown as she goes back to the town that she loved. When she returns in her afterlife, she realizes how small minded humans can be.

The overall experience of the play was fantastic. The manually created sounds were done live by Kevin Reed, ‘19. From chicken sounds to “cup-dropping sounds,” the effects were super authentic and skillfully executed. “I was offered the job by Mr. Siuda because he thought I would do a great job,” Reed said.

The set was quite unique in that there really wasn’t one.  Actors performed with only a few chairs, tables and makeshift counters to simulate a host of situations.  The outstanding narrating by Paolo Blanchi, ‘19 in the beginning of the play set up where everything in the town was on the stage. Paolo also did a great job narrating as he even walked into the audience while he was talking. He was very engaging with an excellent voice for narration.

The play was Mr. Jeff Siuda’s McQuaid directorial debut; however, he has directed many plays outside of McQuaid professionally. This was shown during the play as the audience could see the professionalism of the young actors.

“The two months of practicing for the play were definitely worth it,” said Tom Crowley, ‘20, who was an actor in the play. “I highly suggest fellow Knights to audition for the next play at McQuaid. You can make many friendships, and you also get to experience theatre,” Crowley added.

The play was a great experience for the audience–unique and fun to watch, with an impressively polished cast.