Our Town - Character Descriptions
Primary Characters
Stage Manager (35-70) A narrator, commentator, and guide through Grover’s Corners. He joins in the action of
the play periodically, as the reverend at the wedding, the soda shop owner, a local townsmen, etc., and speaks
directly to Emily after her death.
Emily Webb (16-26) main character; we follow her from a precocious young girl through her wedding to George
Gibbs and her early death.
George Gibbs (16-26) main character; the boy next door, a kind but irresponsible teenager who matures over
time and becomes a responsible husband, father and farmer.
Frank Gibbs (35-55) George’s father, the town doctor.
Julia (Hersey) Gibbs (35-55) George’s mother. She dreams of going to Paris, but doesn’t get there. Dies later
while visiting her daughter in Ohio. She saved $350 for the trip from the sale of an antique furniture piece, but
ultimately willed it to George and Emily.
Charles Webb (40’s-50’s) Emily’s father, editor of the Grover’s Corners Sentinel
Myrtle Webb (36-55) Emily’s mother. Serious, crisp.
Secondary Characters
Joe and Si Crowell (10-14) local paperboys. Joe’s intelligence earns him a full scholarship to MIT where he
graduates at the top of his class. His promise will be cut short on the fields of France during World War I,
according to the Stage Manager. Both he and his brother Si hold marriage in high disdain.
Simon Stimson (30’s-40’s) – the choir director and church organist. We never learn the root cause of his
alcoholism and later suicide. He is still bitter and cynical beyond the grave.
Howie Newsome (30’s-40’s) the milkman, a fixture of Grover’s Corners.
Rebecca Gibbs (10-14) George’s younger sister.
Wally Webb (10-14) Emily’s younger brother. Dies of a burst appendix on a Boy Scout camping trip.
Professor Willard (40’s-70) a rather long-winded lecturer
Mrs. Louella Soames (30’s-40’s) a gossipy townswoman and member of the choir
Constable Bill Warren (40’s-60’s) the policeman
Joe Stoddard (50’s-60’s) the undertaker
Sam Craig (late 20’s-30’s) a nephew of Mrs Gibbs who left town to seek his fortune. He came back after 12
years in Buffalo for Emily’s funeral.