{"id":2334662,"date":"2026-03-18T10:23:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2334662"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:23:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:23:50","slug":"madison-influence-adds-to-our-town-universal-themes-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/madison-influence-adds-to-our-town-universal-themes-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Madison influence adds to ‘Our Town’ universal themes | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cOur Town,\u201d written by Thornton Wilder in 1938, has been called the greatest American play ever written. The Pulitzer Prize-winning work is known worldwide, with frequent revivals generating new fans across generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

But few know that \u201cOur Town,\u201d at least in part, is our town: Madison.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the story is set on the East Coast, Thornton Wilder\u2019s nephew, Tappan Wilder, said Wilder\u2019s early life in Madison inspired parts of \u201cOur Town.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe meant for \u2018Our Town\u2019 to be about everywhere,\u201d said<\/span> Tappan Wilder.<\/span> \u201cIt’s set in a small town, and it explodes into a universal statement about life, but it’s influenced by his experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The story follows two families over the course of 12 years in the early 1900s and is set in the fictional town of Grover\u2019s Corners, New Hampshire. It follows the characters through several stages of life: birth, life, courtship, marriage and death.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur Town\u201d was adapted as an opera by composer Ned Rorem and librettist J.D. McClatchy in 2005. It premiered at Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater in 2006.<\/span><\/p>\n

The operatic production is coming to<\/span> University Opera<\/span><\/a> on March 20 for a four-day run in Music Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wilder was born in 1897 in Madison, where his father, Amos Parker Wilder, was editor and part owner of the Wisconsin State Journal before his work as a diplomat took the family to China and Hong Kong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tappan Wilder, 86, was his uncle\u2019s literary executor for 25 years and currently runs the Wilder estate. Tappan Wilder has a personal connection to Madison as well, having received a master\u2019s<\/span> in American history from UW-Madison. He said the play\u2019s storyline is supposed to be universal but that Wilder took inspiration from Madison, back when the city was less urban than it is today.<\/span><\/p>\n

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University Opera cast members\u00a0Nathan L\u00ea, left, and Kaitlin Case rehearse for a production of “Our Town,” to be performed March 20-24 at Music Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n MARY GORDON<\/span>
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University Opera\u2019s entire cast and some of the crew are students in the UW\u2019s University Opera course, said associate professor David Ronis, who teaches the course and produces the opera\u2019s shows. Each year University Opera presents two full opera features, with smaller performances throughout the year.<\/span><\/p>\n