Another Day's Begun

An important book consisting of oral histories of 12 productions of the play that have opened since 2012 and prefaced by a richly detailed 34-page overview of the original Broadway production of the play’s subsequent history up to the turn of this century. * The Wall Street Journal *
The early chapters are full of fascinating 'Our Town' factoids, but the heart of 'Another Day’s Begun' is the more than a dozen chapters outlining major productions of ‘Our Town,' which Sherman presents as oral histories. * Hartford Courant *
With the country splintered, its institutions shaken, a book documenting a classic American play affirming shared life experiences and bedrock values seems especially timely. * The Washington Post *
Thornton Wilder’s classic play Our Town is so familiar — and so often performed in a sanitized, sentimental style in high schools around the country — that it’s easy to forget how bold this work originally proved. Author Howard Sherman tells the tale anew with Another Day’s Begun: He brings the story up to date with examinations of the many bold and exciting productions that have appeared in the past 20 years. * Broadway Direct *
If you love the play, you’ll love the book. If you have believe it or not, never really even seen a production of Our Town, you’ll love the book, because this book, as much as the play, is the story about people, and how we fit each other into our lives and what we mean to each other. One of the things you’re struck by as you read about production after production, is that every production becomes its own small town, and you are inevitably touched by the lives that are uplifted. It’s a great book. * Scott Simon, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday *
For those who teach American drama, Wilder, or Our Town, the book has pullable sections that one can assign to add context and perspective to a play that many students might see as antiquated, or unrelatable. Another Day’s Begun provides the perfect dramaturgical companion for any director, scholar, or producer about to visit Grover’s Corners. * Journal of American Drama & Theatre *
An engaging and deeply researched book for theater lovers and for anyone who has ever spent time with this Thornton Wilder masterpiece. The oral histories enliven the book with candid, often contrarian, views by the theatrical participants. The variety of stagings and performers in this century demonstrates Sherman’s premise that Our Town is not a play of nostalgia and sentimentality but rather one that reminds us to savor every glorious moment of our ordinary lives. That’s a tough but important message during this endless pandemic. * Third Coast Review *
[Our Town] has gained a reputation for fusty sentimentality, a misperception that Howard Sherman’s new oral history, “Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’ in the 21st Century”… debunks through discussion of a dozen productions. * The New York Times *
[A] new history of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” * The Boston Globe *
A compendium of newly created oral histories about some key productions from the past two decades…The result is not just an intimate look at the theatermaking process, but an enlightening examination of a play that isn't what it appears to be. * TheaterMania *
Another Day’s Begun possesses a theatricality of its own, with an “intermission” at its mid-point, and a peppering of production stills throughout. But it is with its collection of interviews, or “Oral Histories”, that Sherman’s book comes into its own, offering a novel lens through which to view the play, both in performance and as a cultural phenomenon… To those who want to get to grips with the play, Another Day’s Begun can be highly recommended. * The Times Literary Supplement *
A captivating history of Our Town… In this time of dark stages and unemployed thespians, Sherman’s reflections will enchant all theater buffs. * Library Journal *
Our Town reminds us of what unites, rather than divides, humanity. Howard Sherman has provided a valuable current portrait of the play’s ever timely and timeless testimony to our better selves. * Tappan Wilder *
I love this book! Howard Sherman delivers a fresh, witty, engaging, exhaustively researched, up to the minute backstage tour into one of America's very greatest and perhaps most underestimated plays. An excellent must-have book to own and cherish. * Stephen Adly Guirgis *
What an immense pleasure to read Another Day Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century. Howard Sherman has crafted a comprehensive overview of Our Town that traces the play’s journey from inception to reception, its acceptance and then the interrogations that surround such success. Sherman places Thornton Wilder firmly where he belongs, in the pantheon of the most significant American playwrights. And he makes a compelling case for how the play speaks directly to the complexities our current century * Anne Bogart *
To explore the pages of this book is to rediscover the joy and wonder of theatre itself. Our Town is arguably the greatest American play, and Howard Sherman helps us understand how it retains that power for new generations, new visions of America, and communities around the globe. The stories he tells, like Wilder's play itself, make their gentle and mysterious way into our hearts, until we too are transformed by a bigger and more generous vision of our world. * David Henry Hwang *
If Thornton Wilder ever wondered: “What difference will it make if I write this play?”, Howard Sherman’s Another Day’s Begun answers him. Sherman’s book is a remarkable case study of Our Town in multiple contexts. We are given testimony from all involved in how one play makes an enormous difference in appreciating our time on earth and realizing our connection to each other. A must-read for all who love theatre, and an eloquent gift for all of us who wonder what difference it makes to write during our allotment of days * Paula Vogel *
Howard Sherman has crafted an entertaining and enlightening appreciation of what is arguably the greatest American play … Another Day’s Begun is not only a colorful companion to Our Town, but a worthy addition to the study of American theater. * Donald Margulies *
The core of Another Day’s Begun lies in a series of intelligent discussions between those involved in every kind of production from schools to Broadway and the UK stage… [The book] builds a wealth of information and interest as readers discover the ways in which it has touched so many diverse lives. * British Theatre Guide *
In his fascinating new book, Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century, author Howard Sherman analyzes the play’s meaning and explores its continuing impact on audiences across the globe. * The Red Hook Star Review *
[A]n astonishing, nimble demonstration of how research can be deployed in the field through a multiplicity of dramaturgical filters and prisms. * Thorton Wilder Journal *