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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT color=#333333>Less is not more in Blank Canvas’
staging of ‘Our Town’</FONT></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
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face=Arial><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Bob Abelman</FONT></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Arial><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald,
The Morning Journal</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Arial><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Member, International Association of
Theatre Critics</FONT></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT color=#333333>There is an absolutely beguiling
simplicity in the prose, structure and traditional staging of Thornton Wilder’s
1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning “Our Town,” currently in production at Blank Canvas
Theatre. </FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: "><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
color=#333333>Because of this stark simplicity, “Our Town” has become a staple
in countless high schools and community theaters.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The writing is so good and the
plain-folk characters are so clearly defined that the play can easily endure,
and potentially benefit from, unrefined amateur performances of
it.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: "><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
color=#333333>Professional productions tend to tweak the casting or context in
order to add to the play’s poignancy, relevancy and theatricality.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A recent off-Broadway revival went so
far as to break Wilder’s minimalism mandate by introducing a realistic set in a
scene where one of the dead revisits the living, in order to dramatically
accentuate the divide between life and death.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: "><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
color=#333333>The tweaks performed for Blank Canvas’ rendition, under Patrick
Ciamacco’s direction, are minor by comparison and of the subtle variety. They
serve to make a simple production simpler still, with mixed results.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
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face="Times New Roman"></FONT></SPAN> </P>
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face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>For
the rest of this review, go to </SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/</FONT></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>