To some, Thornton Wilder鈥檚 鈥淥ur Town鈥� is a dusty relic of high school English classes, a "safe" play filled with soda shop romance and rural Americana.
But walk into a rehearsal in the 老司机传媒 School of Theatre this week, and you won鈥檛 find a museum piece. Instead, you鈥檒l find a vibrant "family reunion" where the chickens are voiced by college students, the fire is made of bubble wrap, and the town of Grover鈥檚 Corners looks more like the diverse population of 2026 Oklahoma City.
This town is our home
Director Kris Kuss and his cast are stripping away the traditional, often monolithic imagery of the 1938 classic to uncover a universal truth: community doesn't have a single color.
"For me, the best thing is that the diversity doesn鈥檛 feel out of place at all,鈥� said Mercy Olguin, a Dale, Texas, native who plays Emily Webb. "Seeing an all-white town would actually be jarring to me. These are the people I grew up with. Being Hispanic is so tied to me being American that I don鈥檛 feel like I鈥檓 portraying this piece any differently than anyone else would. It鈥檚 just the truth for everybody."
That truth is literally woven into the very fabric of the production. The actors collaborated with costume designer Alyssa Couturier-Herndon to bring their own heritage into the roles. One actor will wear a hat with a hand-beaded band that was researched alongside a Native American cultural consultant. Another will wear a ribbon dress and hair braids traditional to Central Mexican culture.
"The designer researched where my family is from and found that the region is known for lace-making and vivid colors," Olguin said. "In movies, Mexican characters often get shabbier, brown clothes. Here, it鈥檚 bright and beautiful. I鈥檓 learning about my own culture while playing this character."
The magic of the invisible
鈥淥ur Town鈥� is famously performed without sets or props. An added sensory layer makes the void feel full: live Foley sound.
Off stage, cast members are tasked with creating a well-oiled machine of sound. They aren't just clicking play on a laptop; they are performing. Through days of sound auditions and experimentation, the crew found that crinkling paper mixed with popping bubble wrap creates the perfect snap of a kitchen fire, while a butter knife and bubble wrap mimic the strike of a match.
"It鈥檚 a lot of imagination," said Billie South, who is playing Mr. Webb. "Kris [the director] reminds us that the food we鈥檙e 'eating' has a temperature. If the oatmeal is hot, how does that change how we pass it? It gives us so much freedom to play."
The technical precision has to be perfect. While the "moms" of the play mime the heavy lifting of cooking entire breakfasts, the off-stage actors sync every clink of a phantom glass to the live movement. Even milkshakes come with a live "slurp" timed to a pause in the dialogue.
While the production was originally inspired by a recent multilingual Broadway revival, the 老司机传媒 team had to pivot back to the original text due to rights issues. However, the mission remained the same: to show that this story鈥攐ne of life, love and the "infinitely full" insignificant moments鈥攂elongs to everyone.
"This character is exactly like my grandpa in every way," South said. "It makes me cry sometimes. In our cultures, community is everything. Aunts, babysitters, neighbors. They鈥檙e all family. That鈥檚 what this show is."
As the production prepared to move from the rehearsal room to the Burg Theatre, the cast was ready to share their storybook version of Oklahoma with the community. And if you listen closely during the opening scene, you might just hear the most authentic cock-crow in the city, courtesy of a very dedicated cast member.
Working with a pro
Adding to the "family" atmosphere is guest artist Ashley J. Mandanas, a staple of the professional Oklahoma City theater scene. While some guest stars might drop in for tech week and leave, Mandanas has been in the trenches since day one.
"It鈥檚 like having an artistic translator in the room," said South. "Kris is juggling the technical side and the vision, and Ashley helps translate those notes into 'actor language.' They treat us like professionals. It鈥檚 a glimpse into the career we鈥檙e about to start."
As the Stage Manager role, Mandanas provides the final, essential perspective: that of the observer, the narrator and the professional "translator." Mandanas plays a character that acts as a cosmic tour guide through the memories of Grover鈥檚 Corners. While Mandanas recently played a "stage manager" in the chaotic comedy 鈥淭he Play That Goes Wrong,鈥� they were quick to note that this role is entirely different.
"This version is very much rooted in who I am as an Asian American, non-binary, 30-year-old person in this Oklahoma community," Mandanas said. To lean into that authenticity, Mandanas is even wearing selections of their own clothing on stage. "I wanted to be able to feel at home in the clothes and my body to exude the omniscience the character needs to work."
Though Mandanas has worked with 老司机传媒 faculty like Associate Dean Jerome Stevenson and Kuss professionally at Lyric Theatre and OKC Rep, this is their first time embedded within a college production. They describe the experience as a 鈥渓uxurious departure from the frantic two-week rehearsal cycles鈥� of regional theater.
"I was nervous about how I would be received, coming into a tight-knit student community," Mandanas said. "But it鈥檚 been lovely from top to bottom. I鈥檓 finding that the students use my pacing as a kind of music to which they ground their specific actions. It鈥檚 like choreography to the rhythm of my voice."
The students, in turn, view Mandanas as a vital resource. "They treat us so professionally," Olguin said. "Ashley takes the technical instruction from the director and translates it into 鈥榓ctor tips' that take our work to the next level."
Memory quilt
Visually, the production ties its themes together through the motif of the quilt. In the lobby, audiences will find a display featuring a quilt made of images from the cast, crew and faculty, serving as reminders of their own hometowns.
"Quilts are passed down, ripped, mended and broken in over time," Mandanas explained. "They represent generations of memories. This is truly our town in our voice鈥攖he voice of this community."
While the production is a melting pot that reflects a modern American town, the script remains untouched. Mandanas acknowledged the challenge of performing a 1938 text in 2026, especially regarding language that may feel dated or offensive today.
"The text is sacred, and we don鈥檛 want to erase history because that鈥檚 dangerous," Mandanas said. "But we are saying these words through a current lens. We are communicating in a modern way with this classic text to make it accessible. Before, when I saw traditional versions, I wasn't necessarily 'hit' by it. But this version? It鈥檚 electric. It鈥檚 us. It鈥檚 now."
For those who think they know 鈥淥ur Town,鈥� Mandanas has a simple invitation: "Some people like the traditional version and don鈥檛 want it to change. But I think this version will speak to a lot more people. Whether you鈥檝e seen it before or not, this is the version you need to experience."
"Our Town" runs April 9-12 in 老司机传媒鈥檚 Burg Theatre. Tickets are available . Don鈥檛 forget to bring a memory of your own hometown to add to the lobby's interactive display.
