The Skin of Our Teeth

Wilbury Theatre Group has specialized in pushing the envelope with their productions, but considering their take on Thornton Wilder's "The Skin Of Our Teeth," it is safe to say they have raised the bar to another level.

This is a play unlike anything you will ever see. The story is a Biblical allegory with a timeline which reaches back to the prehistoric era and onward through the industrial age.

Wilder wrote the play in 1942 when the United States was in the midst of World War Two. It was a time of great uncertainty and marked by great sacrifices.

The women stayed behind and tended their homes while their husbands and sons went off to fight in a distant land.

The Antrobus family - George, his wife Maggie, and their children Henry (Jason Roth, making his Wilbury debut) and Gladys (Shannon Hartman) - are living a cozy middle-class existence in New Jersey during the Ice Age.

Their maid Sabina (an electrifying Melissa Penick) notes the family came through the great depression by "the skin of their teeth."

There is a trashcan filled with wood in the living room. The family welcomes some transients to warm themselves by the fire, along with a dinosaur (Aaron Blanck) and a wooly mammoth (Joey Macari and Maggie Papa).

Sabina breaks the "fourth wall" by telling the audience she hates the play. It turns out Sabina is really an actress performing in "The Skin of Our Teeth."

And then the living room set occupied by the Antrobus family is taken apart piece by piece and is transformed into a platform in the middle of the room.

The members of the cast sing and dance and hand out little boxes of popcorn and candy cigarettes to everyone.

"The Skin Of Our Teeth" is more than a play; it is a living, breathing work of art. The plot is less important than the creation of mood.

Director Josh Short generated lively performances from his actors, especially Sarah Leach as Maggie, who is in a perpetual state of apprehension about the end of the world.

Tom Roberts also radiated a lot of passion as George, who is seduced by the beautiful Miss Fairweather in Atlantic City.

Wilbury veteran David Tessier was charming and quirky in multiple roles: an announcer, a fortune teller, and Mr. Fitzpatrick, who is the stage manager for the play.

Keri King's imaginative set designs were well-suited for the surrealism of the story.

Credit must also go to Erin Meghan Donnelly, whose costumes were absolutely dazzling.

The parallels between the world in "The Skin Of Our Teeth" and the troubled world we inhabit now are striking. While we face our fears of nuclear war, destruction brought about by climate change, as well as terrorism and economic insecurity, the Antrobus family reminds us of our basic ability to survive natural and unnatural disasters. We are left feeling a sense of hope in the midst of grim uncertainty.

"The Skin Of Our Teeth" also implores us to cherish family, community, democracy, and basic human decency, before they are swept away by our own indifference.

"The Skin Of Our Teeth" runs through February 4. Wilbury Theatre Group. 40 Sonoma Court, Providence. For more information, call 401-400-7100 or visit www.thewilburygroup.org.