A Noise Within presents Thornton Wilder’s ‘The Skin of Our Teeth’

Launching A Noise Within’s 2024-25 “True Grit” season in Pasadena is “The Skin of Our Teeth,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Thornton Wilder.

The play is co-directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, and performances are set for Sept. 7-29.

“What gives us the internal fortitude, the ‘grit,’ to keep going in the face of adversity?” a write-up on NoHoArtsDistrict.com pondered of Wilder’s “time-bending comic romp” of a play. “The archetypical American family, Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus live in Excelsior, New Jersey along with their daughter Gladys, son Henry, and saucy family maid, Sabina. 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 large ensemble cast includes A Noise Within favorites Kasey Mahaffy and Cassandra Marie Murphy, 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,” Elliott said in a statement. “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.”

“The Skin of Our Teeth” opened on Broadway’s Plymouth Theatre in 1942 and quickly became a hit. It was directed by Elia Kazan and starred Fredric March and Florence Eldridge as Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus, Tallulah Bankhead as Sabina and an early-career role for Montgomery Clift with his portrayal of 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,” NoHoArtsDistrict.com reported.

“The Skin of Our Teeth” is scheduled for a run of Sept. 7-29 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. There will be no matinee on Sept. 7, and the theater is dark Sept. 12. Four preview performances are set for 2 p.m. on Sept. 1, and at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 4, 5 and 6.

A one-hour INsiders Discussion Group will start at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 8 prior to the matinee performance.

“Post-performance conversations with the artists” will take place every Friday except the preview and on Sunday, Sept. 15. Student matinees are scheduled on select weekdays at 10:30 a.m. Educators who are interested can email education@anoisewithin.org.

General admission tickets start at $51.50 including fees. Student tickets start at $20. Tickets to the previews on Sept. 4 and 5 “will be Pay What You Choose starting at $10,” according to organizers. The preview tickets are available online starting at noon the previous Monday, and at the box office starting at 2 p.m. on the day of the performance. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.

A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. in Pasadena. Information and ticket purchasing is available by calling 626-356-3100 or visiting anoisewithin.org.