By Mia Shea
Correspondent
The 1940s play “The Skin of Our Teeth,” originally written by Thornton Wilder, follows the Antrobus family and their housekeeper, Sabina, as they persevere through global disasters. This three-act play explores resilience through a modernized version of several biblical stories.
All College Theatre performed the show in the Don Evans Black Box Theater. The play ran from April 10 to April 12.
Mr. Antrobus, played by freshman English major Travis Martin, is unfaithful to his wife, Mrs. Antrobus, played by freshman early childhood education and psychology major Denae Johnson. His mistress is the housekeeper, Sabina, played by sophomore elementary special education and history major Bella Moitoso.
The Antrobus family has two children, Gladys, played by junior communication studies major Sarah Borriello, and Henry, played by junior physics and secondary education major Lukas Nacion.
Borriello shared that her favorite part about playing Gladys is “how energetic she is and how funny she is,” but along with that, “there is so much depth to her character,” she said.
The show’s plot is not the primary focus of the show as a whole. The show is centered around the evolution of the characters throughout the global disasters — act one’s being a new ice age, act two being the great flood and act three the end of a war.
Sabina broke the fourth wall several times throughout the show, momentarily pausing the show in order to allude to the fact that they are all actors in the play. When she did so, the stage manager character, played by junior math and secondary education major Aidan Hulse, would refer to her as “Ms. Moitoso,” adding this comedic element to the play.
“It's a play within a play,” added Borriello.
There were also several references to past ACT shows and TCNJ Musical Theatre’s spring musical, “Curtains,” where Moitoso played Jessica Cranshaw. These hidden easter eggs made the show that much more comical as someone who understood these references.
Production manager and sophomore communication studies major Lauren Diaz shared that “The Skin of Our Teeth” was a huge challenge for all departments involved in the production. “It is one of if not the biggest, most demanding shows ACT has ever put on and we are so incredibly fortunate that it turned out the way that it did,” she said.
As each act evolved, so did the set, making it very visually easy to follow the time period, although the play takes place over several thousand years.
“It's human nature to want to keep building and keep persevering no matter how difficult the times are. This show, despite being written over 80 years ago, is still so relevant and I hope the audiences take this message with them,” Diaz added.
