Our Town is showing here at Parkway Playhouse on May 23-June 1, 2025! We reached out to director, Erika Tyner, to tell us a bit more about the vision for this show and the connections this show is making with our community!
What’s so special about this show?
Our Town has long been a bucket list production for me. When Little Women wrapped this past summer, I immediately said yes when approached about directing Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, fourth-wall-breaking classic. From the start, I was committed to connecting Our Town to our own town of Burnsville.
I knew I wanted to involve community members in roles that reflect their real-life contributions to Burnsville. For instance, Peter Bobbe—a legendary English teacher at our high school—is a natural fit for Editor Webb. Roberta Whiteside, a local vocal icon, plays the choir director, while Jonathan Polgar, a trusted community health care provider, takes on the role of Dr. Gibbs. The Stage Manager, the most pivotal role in the play, is portrayed by Alesa Bryant, a celebrated writer, teacher, director, and theatrical figure in our area. We’re also thrilled to feature members of the First Baptist Church of Burnsville as part of the choir.
Following Hurricane Helene this fall, I felt strongly about reflecting the resilience and recovery efforts of our community within the production. This led to one of our most meaningful creative choices: the set. Inspired by the stacks of wooden pallets used during disaster relief, we built the set from pallet wood—walls, tables, and chairs included. After sharing the idea with Parkway Playhouse’s set designer, my husband, my uncle, and some generous workers at Fred’s collected and transported the pallets on a frigid January afternoon. Weeks later, junior students and teachers helped carry them inside—a true Parkway Playhouse community effort.
Tell us about the details you’re working into this show that you love.
As you experience our production, you’ll see how we’ve made Our Town truly ours, with subtle but intentional connections to Burnsville’s recovery journey after Hurricane Helene. Audiences will experience this through one of my favorite creative choices – use of live sound. Local high school musician, Santos Mondragon, creates sound effects using items salvaged after the storm, adding a rich, sensory layer to the storytelling.
What are you loving about working on this production?
Working with this cast has been a dream realized. I’ve always believed in the power of collaboration, and the creativity flowing from this group of local actors has been truly inspiring. Each rehearsal began with a vision, and through their talent and insight, that vision grew into something far greater than I could have imagined. This is the heart of theater for me—and the reason I keep returning to Parkway Playhouse season after season.
How long have you been involved with Parkway Playhouse, and in what ways?
After earning a degree in adapting literature for the stage from UNC-Chapel Hill—where I directed multiple productions and founded a still-thriving nonprofit theater company—I stepped away from the theater to focus on my career in education and my family. Since 2017, I’ve directed Mainstage and Junior productions and taught classes for the Junior program and summer camps at Parkway Playhouse.
What’s your favorite thing about working with Parkway Playhouse?
Hands down, the aspect that I enjoy the most about working with Parkway Playhouse is the mission of being a teaching theater. As a lifelong educator, teaching is at my core, and it brings me great joy to guide the next generation of actors, theater technicians, and all-around theater enthusiasts.
About Erika
Erika is thrilled with the opportunity to direct Our Town, a classic play that has long been on her professional theater goal list. Over the years, she has directed numerous Mainstage and Junior productions at Parkway Playhouse. She extends heartfelt thanks to her husband, Marc, and her two sons, B. and Bowen, for their unwavering support.
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