'Our Town' at Oceanside's Star Theatre

Lynne and I wanted a night on the town so we headed to Oceanside for dinner and the theater. What a blast!

Our destination was the very vintage Star Theatre for its production of Our Town.
As I knew nothing about this play, I was very intrigued by its description. "This is Our Town as Thornton Wilder wished it to be performed. Described by Edward Albee as “the greatest American play ever written,” Our Town presents the small town of Grover’s Corners, between 1901 and 1913, in three acts: Daily Life, Love and Marriage and Death and Eternity. Narrated by a stage manager, and performed with minimal props and sets, the play depicts the simple daily lives of the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually – in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre – die. Thornton Wilder’s final word on how he wanted his play performed is an invaluable addition to the American stage and to the libraries of theatre lovers internationally."
As far as I'm concerned, the theatre was a star, too. Built as a movie palace, the Star Theatre opened the 18th of August 1956 with the movie Moby Dick starring Gregory Peck. It was originally designed for a seating capacity of 986; 546 seats in the orchestra and 440 in the stepped loge section at the rear. Behind the loge seating area was a cry room equipped with electric fixtures for bottle warmers. The auditorium was fitted with surround speakers built into the ceiling of the theater, for the then new stereophonic movies.
Designed by architect William Glenn Balch, the Star was from an era when neon was king and every city was building a drive-in or walk-in theater. The Star is the largest of Balch's 17 theaters that were located in the state of California and the last one that is still open. The marquee boasted being the largest in San Diego County and has been noted for its spectacular animation. It is one of the few remaining examples from its era. In addition, it is a lasting example of Googie architecture, a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age (see last photo).
As for the play, I was so glad I knew nothing about it. As the story unfolded, I was drawn into the lives of the people of Grover's Corners. I felt their connection... their joy and their sadness. It was so uniquely presented, I found myself surprised throughout the performance. Lynne and I were both thoroughly happy we attended.

[Spoiler] The play follows the friendship of George Gibbs and Emily Webb, which develops into romance and marriage. When Emily dies in childbirth, she is given the chance to revisit one day of her life. She realizes that she never fully appreciated her life until she lost it. What a fantastic message.
“You've got to love life to have life,
and you've got to have life to love life.”
― Thornton Wilder
“Oh, earth,
you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.
Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--
every, every minute?”
― Thornton Wilder

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