A Noise Within presents “The Skin of Our Teeth”

Thornton Wilder’s 1942 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Skin of Our Teeth, is an assuredly odd duck. It’s eighty-two years old but still seems postmodern with its frequent fourth-wall breaking, playfulness with time and use of characters as symbols. Its main subject is how mankind, represented here by the Antrobus (Greek for human or person) family, muddles through all eras of life – a rather ambitious undertaking. The current production of the show by A Noise Within is superb, as good a version of this play as one is likely to see, with outstanding work from all concerned.

It’s August in Excelsior, New Jersey, the coldest day of the year. Mr. Antrobus (Frederick Stuart) and his wife, Mrs. Antrobus (Trisha Miller), live in their once-comfortable home with their son, Henry (Christian Henley), their daughter, Gladys (Mildred Marie Langford) and their maid, Sabina (Ann Noble). They’re struggling to stay warm and worrying about the approaching wall of ice. In later times in Atlantic City, Mr. Antrobus gets into politics and Sabina plots to steal him away from his wife. Later still, a war has ravaged America, turning father against son, and the family must decide if it’s worth trying to start again.

Stuart shines as jovial paterfamilias Mr. Antrobus, the fan of culture, and Miller is terrific as the fierce Mrs. Antrobus, concerned with the preservation of her family to the exclusion of all else. Langford does nice work as Gladys, a daughter trying to become her own person, and Henley is very good as the murderous Henry, finding the humanity in the character. Noble is excellent as Sabina, using her high energy, brilliant comedic timing and intelligence to get every laugh and dramatic nuance from the role.

The direction by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott is expert, from its dynamic staging to the clarity of displaying Wilder’s intent. The technical credits are first-rate across the board, especially Frederica Nascimento’s cleverly adaptable scenic design and Nicholas Santiago’s impressive projection design. There is much to love in Wilder’s writing, from his ambition to his humor (Henry will graduate school “if they make the alphabet easier”), but I think his reach exceeds his grasp in this work, making it more of a fascinating experiment than a successful play.

That being said, I was happy to see this high-quality and very enjoyable production, and I recommend it for theater lovers open to trying something a bit different.

The Skin of Our Teeth is presented at and by A Noise Within and plays through September 29. Tickets are available at www.anoisewithin.org