The Broadway revival of Thorton Wilder’s 1938 play “Our Town” opened on Oct. 24, and I had the pleasure of seeing it over Thanksgiving break.

The play is set in rural New Hampshire between 1901 and 1913. The first two acts focus on George Gibbs and Emily Webb, two young people who fall in love and eventually get married. In the third act, Emily has died, and her ghost attempts to relive her childhood memories. She realizes that she should have cherished the small moments of joy in her life.

The pace of the play is determined by a character called the Stage Manager, played by Jim Parsons of the “Big Bang Theory,” who acts as an omniscient narrator. He maintains an air of humor and nonchalance, even as the characters die off.

“Our Town” was a thought-provoking play about regular people and the small triumphs of their short lives. The theme of the play is most obvious in its two most famous lines: soon after Emily’s death, when she asks, “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it—every, every minute?” to which the Stage Manager replies, “No. Saints and poets, maybe.”