The Skin of Our Teeth

Lawrence Bommer, Reader

"Backstage Theatre Company’s ingenious, exuberant revival of Thornton Wilder’s 1942 saga is a tonic and a triumph. Because the story spans a period from the dawn of time through WWII, the stage must be transformed into a New Jersey bungalow beset by a wall of ice, a 1929 Atlantic City beauty pageant that succumbs to Noah’s flood, and a painfully contemporary war scene. Over nearly three hours, director Brandon Bruce’s 16-member cast seldom strikes a false note or misses Wilder’s trenchant wisdom, treating period ballads, clever sight gags, and deft caricatures wit inexhaustible high spirits. As Sabina, the predatory maid-narrator who deeply distrutst the play, Rebekah Ward-Hays exemplifies Wilder’s cunning, constantly surprising us"