RR Players prepare for 'Our Town' performance in 5th year of production

The Rio Rancho Players are preparing for their fall production "Our Town" in October.

According to the founder Mel Sussman, this is the fifth year of the Rio Rancho Players being in existence. That had something to do with why Sussman chose "Our Town" as the next production.

"There's a couple of really strategic reasons that I chose it. Number one, 'Our Town' was our initial production that we did, we produced three years ago. We originally started it five years ago, but with the pandemic we got pushed back a little bit, and we really didn't produce it until October of three years ago. And this is our fifth year anniversary of being in existence. I thought I'd like to go back and revisit what we had originally done because it is such a popular play," he said.

Sussman added that this play will be different than others they have put on as it will be performed in a new venue. This time the play will be performed at The Neighborhood.

"It's a wonderful hall, but it's kind of limited in what we can do with scenery, and the way that (Thornton) Wilder originally wrote this, he wrote this with no scenery whatsoever," he said.

"Our Town" originally only had the actors and a few chairs as the scenery. The players' set is minimalistic with two small tables with chairs, two trellis arches and benches. The point of minimal set decorations is to get the audience to have a more emotional connection to the story, which takes people, through the eyes of Emily Webb and George Gibbs, through the cycle of life.

The play follows life through the couple from birth to death.

Sussman says that is something everyone can relate to.

"I think it relates to everybody. It really does because it is a play that's really about us. Living each and every day, and whether you are in 2024, or you're in 1904, when the play takes place. It's about people, it's about families. It's about two young kids that fall in love and things don't necessarily work out the way that we hope that they will. Unfortunately, the Emily's do die, and it's a very poignant play. But when you look at it as to how we live each and every day, yeah, I think it relates well to this community if they take the opportunity to really look at it and to be able to say, 'this is us' on an everyday basis ... how we live each and every day and one of the key lines in the play is, 'How we were born, how we grew up, how we got married, how we lived and how we died,'" he said.

There are two Emilys in the Rio Rancho production. Jessica Enger will perform the role seven times, and Maria Bruno will perform it three. Both are eager to portray her.

Sussman says Emily is the key role and both young ladies are essentially the stars of the show.

"Heard of it before but I've never really did anything with it," Enger said.

For both, this is the first time playing Emily.

"My mom saw this play in high school, so I'm kind of a little familiar about it because she's told me how this is one of the saddest plays she's ever seen," Bruno said.

The role, however, seemed like the right fit to both young women.

"I read the script, and I was just immediately drawn to Emily's character. I thought she was very fun and very dynamic and how her character changes within each act. It's like a brand-new person each time. Shows the different aspects of life and the phases we go through, and I just think it's really beautiful to see that," Bruno said.

Enger added to that saying that each phase of life, even the ending, had drawn her to the role.

"I really liked how it showed like her lifespan of starting out as like a young girl and then going into love interest, high school type and then getting married, then finally afterlife. It was what really drew me to the part was really the ending and just how how it had such a great meaning," she said.

Both said the play helps one appreciate life and that they hope the audience can connect to the characters in some way. Bruno and Enger say the community in the play is tight-knit, like the Rio Rancho community.

Sussman's hope five years ago, when the group originally formed, was to become the community theater group for Rio Rancho.

"When my wife and I first moved here, there was tons of theater all around in Albuquerque, Bernalillo and Corrales, but there was no community theater here in Rio Rancho and my wife turned to me and said, 'How can there not be a community theater in Rio Rancho?'" he said.

He added that she pushed him to start the group and, despite his apprehensiveness, he succeeded.

"Lo and behold, five years later, we're a group that's over 70 strong. I think we've really sold ourselves to this community to come view theater here. We're not Popejoy. We're not Albuquerque, Adobe or the Little Theater. We're who we are. It's an outlet for community members to be able to grow and enjoy theater," he said.

He added that many people who go through Rio Rancho Players go on to perform in larger roles.

"That's what we're supposed to do. It's not easy for me to let them grow, but at the same time, it's our job to help them grow, if you truly love theater. That's what this is about. And I think that's the reason that that I've formed this group, to make an understanding that we're not a theater. We're a theater group and the group is for a community activity, where people can grow to become better in theater, and it's happened in a lot of different directions and I'm very proud of that," he said.

The play will be hosted at Desert Theater at the Neighborhood in Rio Rancho Life Plan Community Oct. 12-13, 18-20, 26-27. See rr-cc.org for more information.