Mildred Marie Langford, Frederick Stuart, Trisha Miller and Christian Henley star in ANW’s “The Skin of Our Teeth.” (Photo by Daniel Reichert)
Theater company Noise Within is ready to raise the curtain on its 2024-25 “True Grit” season with no less than one theater performance Brilliant performance. Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth,” a triptych of dramatic daring that won the playwright his third Pulitzer Prize, will guide audiences through the vast universe of human existence. In a comical way.
This temporal tightrope act, directed by directing duo Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, traces the Antrobus family’s journey through 5,000 years of marital vicissitudes and global upheaval.
From glacial advances to torrential disasters to warlike turmoil, this “epic comic” saga is a testament to humanity’s inexhaustible resilience.
“It is one of the most profound pieces ever written about the human experience, and also one of the funniest,” said Elliott, his words a tantalizing Amuse Bouche for the upcoming theater festival.
The co-director rightly pointed out the rarity of dramatic works that exhibit both a Homeric dimension and a Chaplinesque comedic virtuosity.
Rodriguez-Elliott describes the piece as “a plan for survival” that resonates in our time of constant crisis. Still, it’s ironic because “it’s incredibly optimistic, … it reminds us all that we go through cycles as human beings.”
The ensemble includes Frederick Stuart and Trisha Miller as the evergreen George and Maggie Antrobus. Surrounding this central duo are Mildred Marie Langford as the eternally naive Gladys, Christian Henley as the moody Henry and Ann Noble as Sabina, the family maid with a tongue as sharp as a stage dagger.
Wilder’s script and direction are beguiling and confusing. The play’s temporal gymnastics, once a source of confusion (as the legendary Elia Kazan noted of the 1942 Broadway premiere), now seem to embody its enduring avant-garde spirit.
While the Antrobus clan defies the blows and blows of fate (despite having a pet dinosaur with them), the audience is invited to reflect on their own Sisyphean struggle.
In a world teetering on the brink of its next catastrophe, The Skin of Our Teeth is a timely reminder that humanity’s greatest trick has always been its talent for encores.
Tickets and more can be found at https://www.anoisewithin.org/play/the-skin-of-our-teeth/
A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. in East Pasadena. Call (626) 356-3100.
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