"You got to love life to have life, and you got to have life to love life."
-Thornton Wilder

Experience Thornton Wilder's American classic Our Town at Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre, opening on Jan. 14 and running in rotating repertory through April 1. This Pulitzer Prize- winning drama captures the beauty and innocence of young love in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire at the turn of the century.

Our Town features Hilberry Company members Tanisha Gonzalez as Emily Webb, Mike Schraeder as George Gibbs and Sean Ramey as the Stage Manager. Owen Reynolds' set design along with Erica Friesen's costumes combine to create the simplicity and innocence of small town life. Our Town is directed by Associate Professor and Head of the Black Theatre Program, Edward G. Smith. His directing credits include productions at the Madison Repertory Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, St. Louis Black Repertory Company and the Negro Ensemble Company. Smith recently directed The Mousetrap at the Hilberry Theatre, The Piano Lesson at the Bonstelle Theatre and Revival at Possum Valley Kingdom Community Church at the Detroit Repertory Theatre.

On Saturday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. there will be a special family night performance of Our Town, with discounted tickets at $15 for adults and $5 for children. This special night provides families with a chance to attend a play together that will entertain both the young and the old. The Our Town Family Night includes: a brief introduction to the play given by director Edward G. Smith, a talk-back where the audience can ask the actors questions in the theatre after the performance, a chance to meet and take photos with the actors in the lobby after the show, prizes and refreshments. For tickets to the Our Town Family Night, please call the box office at (313) 577- 2972.

Our Town will play in rotating repertory at the Hilberry Theatre from Jan. 14 through April 1 with Some Americans Abroad, Breaking the Code and Five by Tenn. Performances are scheduled Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m. with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. Hilberry Theatre tickets range in price from $11-$18. Special discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. Student "rush" tickets, priced at $7, go on sale the day of the performance. Do not miss out on Our Town, the life-affirming American classic that touches something eternal in every human being with purity, rare simplicity and the human penchant to hold on to life as we know it. For additional information and tickets, call the Hilberry box office at (313) 577-2972.