For many families, it can be an exhausting task to execute safe and organized family trips to new places. So, we must all be in agreement of this: it certainly is an unimaginable endeavor to travel between and live through an ice age, a great flood, and a war. Leave it to the Antrobus family to survive several apocalyptic events in a row.
This year, the Wissahickon Theatre Company’s annual play was Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, which tells the story of the Antrobus family and their multiple encounters with near-death, global catastrophes. While the transitions between apocalyptic events and overall plot might have been perceived as chaotic and comedically random, the play is intended as an allegory for the nature of mankind, despite its “disorienting” story structure. In the midst of mammoths and dinosaurs, The Skin of Our Teeth utilizes many biblical and historical allusions, intricate anachronisms, and thoughtful archetypes to construct an exploration of humanity’s ability to survive immense destruction and hardship, and rebuild civilization.
A noteworthy example of biblical allusions used in the interplay of the play’s modern characters is Mr and Mrs. Antrobus and their resemblance to Adam and Eve, from the Book of Genesis. In the play, Mr. Antrobus invents the alphabet and wheel, echoing Adam’s role in naming creations at the beginning of the world. Mrs. Antrobus’s character is supposedly inspired by Eve, as revealed by her efforts to hold the family together. As Eve is considered the mother of all living, Mrs. Antrobus similarly represents the continuation of the human race. By “recasting” the world’s first human couple as ordinary and modern, Wilder emphasizes that the struggle to endure and thrive in life is not limited to biblical times, but is an eternal human condition marked by persistence and hope.
Senior Emma Brocklesby (‘26) plays Mrs. Antrobus and remarked on the challenge of playing such a complex character. “Getting to channel my inner mother was fun, but at times it was difficult to play her with accuracy,” she said. Ultimately, the production of the play was exciting and had the audience hooked, with captivating performances from the cast and impressive technical and logistical aspects carried out by the stage crew. Congratulations to the Wissahickon Theatre Company for a wonderful show and stay tuned for the spring musical: Twelfth Night!
