Our Town

Back in 1955, a young Paul Newman played George Gibbs in a TV musical version of Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town', with Frank Sinatra as the Stage Manager and Eva Marie Saint as Emily. Nearly fifty years later he came back to the play, this time in the Stage Manager's role himself.

It's 1901 in Grover's Corners, a small town in New Hampshire. On an almost bare stage, with no scenery and only a few chairs and tables, the Stage Manager introduces us to the locals, above all the Gibbs and the Webbs, two families who live next door to each other.

Their children, George and Emily, have known each other all their lives, and over three acts the play follows an ordinary day in town, the two youngsters falling in love and what comes after, as the narrator steps in and out of the story to remind us how little we notice everyday life while we're living it.

The production started at the Westport Country Playhouse, where Joanne Woodward, Newman's wife, was artistic director, and moved to Broadway, giving Newman his first Broadway role in 38 years and a Tony nomination. 'Our Town' was recorded at New York's Booth Theatre without an audience and directed by the actor James Naughton. Maggie Lacey and Ben Fox play Emily and George, alongside Jeffrey DeMunn, Jane Curtin, Jayne Atkinson, Frank Converse and Stephen Spinella.

Showtime aired it on 24 May 2003, and it reached PBS's 'Masterpiece Theatre' that autumn. Newman earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, and its average across the 6 outlets collected on Movienco is 8.3 out of 10.

• Drama
• Family
• Romance