Performance - The Skin of Our Teeth

Irreverent, unruly, ambitious and hilarious. Launching the 2024-25 “True Grit” season at A Noise Within, co-artistic directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct The Skin of Our Teeth, the Pulitzer Prize-winning, time-bending comic romp by Thornton Wilder that’s a testament to the indomitable spirit of humanity. The four-week run is set to open September 7 and continue through September 29, with four low-priced previews taking place September 1 through September 6.

What gives us the internal fortitude, the “grit,” to keep going in the face of adversity? The archetypical American family, Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus (Frederick Stuart and Trisha Miller) live in Excelsior, New Jersey along with their daughter Gladys (Mildred Marie Langford), son Henry (Christian Henley), and saucy family maid, Sabina (Ann Noble). This year, George and Maggie Antrobus are celebrating 5,000 years of marriage - but now the Ice Age is upon them, floods are coming, and war is on the horizon. The story of the family’s journey through time is the story of mankind: surviving disaster… by the skin of their teeth. The Antrobus family weathers heat waves and deep freezes, pestilence, plague, war and depression, but, through it all, they keep moving forward. Also in the cast are A Noise Within favorites Kasey Mahaffy and Cassandra Marie Murphy. The large ensemble includes Anthony Adu, Stella Bullock, Julia Chavez, Jacob Cherry, Yannick Haynes, Amber Liekhus, Veronica McFarlane, David A. Rangel, Landon M. Robinson, Micah Schneider and Maya Sta. Ana.

“It’s one of the most profound plays ever written about the human experience, and also one of the funniest,” says Elliott. “There are very few plays that are not only epic in scope, but also epically funny. It’s an extremely inspiring and moving comedy about one particular family, but also about the family of humanity. We go back to the great thinkers. We go back to what it means to come together universally, as a whole. So that we can rebuild again.”

“It’s a roadmap to survival,” agrees Rodriguez-Elliott. “This is a play that resonates most deeply at moments when it feels like we’re on the brink of destruction, and that things feel bleak. And that’s the moment we are currently living in. Yet it’s incredibly optimistic, because it reminds us all that these are cycles we keep going through as human beings.”

The Skin of Our Teeth opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre in November, 1942, and was an immediate smash hit. Directed by Elia Kazan, it starred Fredric March and Florence Eldridge as Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus, Tallulah Bankhead as Sabina, and Montgomery Clift, at the beginning of his career, as Henry. Originally written largely in response to World War II, in part to assuage our fears of worldwide destruction, it earned Wilder his third Pulitzer Prize. In his autobiography, “A Life,” Kazan mused that just as Wilder had done several years earlier with Our Town, he again stretched the bounds of theatrical convention with The Skin of Our Teeth. “Many of the audience were mystified,” Kazan wrote. “But [that] reaction became part of the talk that made the play immediately famous. I overheard one couple talking as they left the theater. ‘What’s it all about?’ the man complained to his wife. ‘Why, George,’ she said, ‘it’s about love and hate and passion and everything - ever since the world began.’ ‘Well,’ the man said, ‘there must be more to it than that.’ ”

The creative team for The Skin of Our Teeth includes 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.

A Noise Within has been called “an oasis for those who love classic stories” by the Los Angeles Times and is a leading regional producer based in Pasadena, California. Under the leadership of Elliott and Rodriguez-Elliott, the award-winning resident theater company is honored to represent the entire community at its state-of-the-art, 324-seat performance space. In addition to producing world-class performances of classic theater, the organization runs robust education programs with the goal of inspiring diverse audiences of all ages. ANW is committed to anti-racist policies and practices across the entirety of the organization. By interpreting its mission to fully engage audiences through community and artist-centered work in multiple creative disciplines, ANW is striving to be a theater that better serves the entire community.

What:
A Noise Within opens its 2024-25 “True Grit” season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning, time-bending comic romp The Skin of Our Teeth. Various cataclysmic events serve as a backdrop for a hilarious and thought-provoking exploration of human resilience by three-time Pulitzer winner Thornton Wilder. After 5,000 years of marriage, George and Maggie Antrobus and their children have faced ice ages, floods and war, but the family perseveres with humor, ingenuity… and a pet dinosaur. This iconic play is a riveting testament to the indomitable spirit of humanity.

Who:
- Written by Thornton Wilder
- Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott
- 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
- Presented by A Noise Within, Geoff Elliot and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, producing artistic directors

Tickets:
- Tickets start at $51.50 (including fees)
- Student tickets start at $20
- Wednesday, Sept. 4 and Thursday, Sept. 5 (previews): Pay What You Choose starting at $10 (available online beginning at noon the Monday prior to that performance, and at the box office beginning at 2 p.m. on the day of the performance.)
- Discounts available for groups of 10 or more

*Post-performance conversations with the artists take place every Friday