SL_Spotlight_125_Layout 1 3 / 3 / 25 3 : 21 PM Page 1 s S P O T L I G H T To Kill a Mockingbird and asked me to play Mr . Webb , and I didn’t want to be the only American actor who had never been in a production of Our Town . I’m very happy now to be a member of Our Town , and [ I had ] a wonderful time doing it . Does it surprise you that The Waltons Timeless hasheld up so well ? No , because it was a great show . It was one Havingrecently wrapped up Broadway’s of the best shows certainly in its era , and reimagining of the classic Our Town , no , it doesn’t surprise me at all . It’s a heart - centered show . It’s a show that went into RichardThomaslooks forward to wherever people’s hearts and people don’t forget his far - ranging career takes him next . that . And it’s still on television . BY DEBRA WALLACE TheWalton family’s good - night ritual is something so many of us emulated . Yes , I hear that all the time . I’ve heard it for 50 years . Absolutely . It’s the most men - tioned thing that people do when they talk about a show , especially if they grew up in a family where they enjoyed saying good nights . I’ve even had a Vietnam War vet say that when he was a prisoner of war , they would do it from cell to cell at night . You have some ties to the Philadel - phia area . Please share a local story with me . I’ve played in Philadelphia a few times , and I love it there . I did 12 Angry Men and To Kill Thomas ( center ) on stage with fellow Our Town cast members a Mockingbird there , and I did a play called Tom Paine at the old Plays and Players The - RichardThomas’s name has been hitched to many “ classics . ” Naturally , he felt atre years ago . So , I’ve always enjoyed my compelled to be part of the iconic play Our Town , which recently graced a theater experiences there . My friend Greg Broadwaystage for the first time in more than 20 years . Wood is a wonderful actor and a real staple Published in 1938 , Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is about the residents of small - town in the great New Jersey and Philadelphia Grover’s Corners , New Hampshire , at the turn of the century . Focusing on the Gibbs and theater communities . Webb families , Our Towndetails the human experience — life , love , death , and the perfect little moments in between — in exquisite detail . The new iteration of the play , which ran at What’s next for you ? Broadway’sEthel Barrymore Theatre through January 19 , was set in the present day . The I have no idea . I’m just happy to be home . I 28 - personcast included Thomas as Mr . Webb , Katie Holmes as Mrs . Webb , Zoey Deutch finished a movie for Netflix , then I went as their daughter , Emily , and Jim Parsons as the stage manager . into Ozark and after that , I went on the OurTownwas Thomas’s 15th Broadway production , though he’s just as well known — road with To Kill a Mockingbird for two and perhaps even more so — for his work on the big and small screens . He performed in the a half years . I came back to New York to black comedy Ozark and the drama The Americans , and has starred in films such as rehearse for Our Town , so I’ll be very Anesthesia and Wonder Boys . He also had a memorable turn as Bill Denbrough in the happy to do nothing for a little while . I 1990TV miniseries Stephen King’s IT , based on the bestselling horror novel . mean , something’s going to pop up — it Of course , the 73 - year - old actor is likely best known for his role as John - Boy Walton always does — so I’m not going to worry inthe wholesome family drama The Waltons , which ran from 1972 – 1981 , and continues to about it . It’ll be very nice to just sort of be at air today . We spoke with him about the show’s lasting appeal , the importance of Our home and cook dinner . Town — “ arguablythe greatest American play and certainly a masterpiece , ” he says — and his memories of Philadelphia . Do you have a specialty that you like der toprepare ? Ra l So , whywas Our Town so appealing to you ? My wife and I like to cook , and we cook nie One of the marks of a masterpiece is that you don’t have together and it’s great fun . My mom made Da y to wait for it to become meaningful again or , for the right a lot of Cuban food when I was little , so I b o time . It’s always the right time to do this play . [ Producer ] t do a few of those dishes . I mean , we just ho Jeffrey Richards called me while I was on tour with like to cook . It’s a fun way to be together . ? P SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM VOLUME 16 ISSUE 4 80 |