The Skin of Our Teeth, an abstract play with hints of impressionism, is back on stage, this time at A Noise Within.
The three act play is an attempt to illustrate the complex and oftentimes turbulent history of humankind. Playwright Thornton Wilder used figures of speech to convey the spectrum of the human condition and the resilience to survive in the face of disaster, covering thousand of years of history. Obviously, this is a challenging task for a theatre director. To translate Wilder’s concepts, Directors Julia Rodriguez–Elliott and Geoff Elliott use lighting, visual effects, and background projections to frame the brilliant performances of Ann Noble, Trisha Miller, and Frederick Stuart, who facilitate the understanding of the philosophical elements of the play.
Wilder wrote the script in 1942, when the world was witnessing the horrors of WWII. Probably as a premonition of what lay ahead, Wilder wrote a play about the necessity to rely on each other to survive a disaster of epic magnitude. The three main events mentioned in the play are a new ice age, a great flood, and a devastating war. By the way, the casualties of WWII were 70-85 million, a catastrophic war, indeed. The Antrobus family, however, is able to survive each disaster, an allegory to the indestructible spirit of humans, especially the family, the fundamental block of society.
The text references three of the most influential philosophers in history: Plato, Aristotle, and Spinoza, a way to convey the idea that their teachings would help humans navigate the treacherous paths in life. This element is used breaking character and addressing the audience directly to bring down the fourth wall. Wilder didn’t use this for a comical effect only, he also implied that the survival of the human species depends on our ability to take personal responsibility, thus transferring rhetorically the action of the play onto the audience.
The excellent acting of Ann Noble as Sabina, Frederick Stuart as Mr. Antrobus, and Trisha Miller as Mrs. Antrobus make the deep philosophical ideas more digestible to the audience. They balance the dramatic tone of the play with a touch of comedy to lighten up the subject matter. In the third act, Christian Henley, amazing in King Hedley II, delivers a powerful and moving performance as a war survivor and resented son. Henley and Stuart offer a touching scene that captures the essence of the play during the resolution.
The ideas imprinted in the play are as relevant as they were 82 years ago. Whether we agree or disagree with Wilder’s points of view, the truth is that human history continues its turbulent path—economical crises, Covid, and more wars included. An analysis of The Skin of Our Teeth is a window to the building blocks of civilization, the wonders of the human experience, and the innate grit to survive adversity.
The Skin of Our Teeth
A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107
Performances Sept. 7 – Sept. 29
• Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.: Sept. 19, Sept. 26 (dark Sept. 12)
• Fridays at 7:30 p.m.: Sept. 20*, Sept. 27*
• Saturdays at 2 p.m.: Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Sept. 28 (no matinee on Sept. 7)
• Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.: Sept. 7 (Opening Night); Sept. 21, Sept. 28
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: Sept. 15*, Sept. 22, Sept. 29
*Post–performance conversations with the artists take place every Friday (except the preview) and on Sunday, Sept. 15.
**A one-hour INsiders Discussion Group will take place prior to the matinee on Sunday, Sept. 8 beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Student matinees are scheduled on select weekdays at 10:30 a.m. Interested educators should email education@anoisewithin.org.
Written by Thornton Wilder. Directed by Julia Rodriguez–Elliott and Geoff Elliott. Presented by A Noise Within, Geoff Elliot and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, producing artistic directors
Starring Christian Henley, Mildred Marie Langford, Kasey Mahaffy, Trisha Miller, Cassandra Marie Murphy, Ann Noble, Frederick Stuart.
Ensemble: Anthony Adu, Stella Bullock, Julia Chavez, Jacob Cherry, Yannick Haynes, Amber Liekhus, Veronica McFarlane, David A. Rangel, Landon M. Robinson, Micah Schneider, Maya Sta. Ana.
Creative team: Scenic designer Frederica Nascimento; lighting designer Ken Booth; composer and sound designer Robert Oriol; costume designer Garry Lennon; wig and make up designer Tony Valdés; and dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad. The production stage manager is Angela Sonner, assisted by Hope Matthews.
