VANITY FAIRās coverage of the Avengersā OUR TOWN reading in Atlanta:
The Avengers, and friends, assembled in Atlanta on Monday night, though without their usual armor, shields, and superpowers. The event, dreamed up by Scarlett Johansson, brought together some of the Marvel Cinematic Universeās biggest starsāall in town filming Avengers: Infinity War at Atlantaās Pinewood Studiosāfor a stage reading of Thornton Wilderās theater classic Our Town, a benefit for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.
As he is on screen as Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. was front and center as the playās Stage Manager, serving as the audienceās guide to the world of Groverās Corners, New Hampshire, in the early 20th century. It was Johansson, though, who introduced the evening, having come up with the idea for the reading in partnership with the John Gore Organization, recruited her co-stars, and persuaded Disney to foot the bill for the minimal set design. āOur Town is almost this kind of warrior cry to remind us of the fragility of life,ā Johansson told the crowd. āIt reminds us to be present and to live moment to moment with one another and to look at each other, to really see one another. Itās about community, helping other people, being compassionate, reaching across lines to lift somebody out of a tragic situation. Itās all about human connectivity, and theater is all about human connectivity.ā
As the play began, the cast, who have been making movies together for nearly a decade now, seemed committed to a straight reading. The antics began quickly, though, with Chris Evans, who played Mr. Webb, the father to Johanssonās Emily. When Evans missed a cue and had to be prompted by the rest of the company, it turned out he was missing page 12 of his script. āAs the Stage Manager, I couldnāt have had anything to do with that,ā quipped Downey Jr., calling to mind the rivalry of Iron Man and Captain America in the Marvel movies.
There was another dueling dynamic between Jeremy Renner (a.k.a. Hawkeye), reading as young George Gibbs, and Mark Ruffalo (a.k.a. Hulk), as his father, Dr. Gibbs. When asked for his age, Renner answered as scripted, āIām 16, almost 17,ā then mockingly added an impromptu address of āDad!ā to stress the absurdity of a man not knowing how old his son is. Renner then made faces whenever Ruffalo had something to say about George. He also commented on his own characterās line about watching Emily through her window at night, joking, āThereās nothing creepy about that.ā
Other dated bits of dialogue from Our Town elicited chuckles from the crowd. If there were many Thornton Wilder fanboys in attendance, they werenāt as evident as the Marvel faithful with their Captain America shield T-shirts and, in at least one case, Iron Man armor.
Brittany Inge received individual cheers for her more sincerely expressive performance as Georgeās mother. The other M.C.U. players included Frank Grillo and Maximiliano Hernandez, who respectively portray the villain Crossbones and S.H.I.E.L.D.ās Agent Sitwell in the franchise. There were a handful of non-Marvel cast members too, including local Atlanta actress Tess Malis Kincaid, who earned a number of laughs while reading the part of Mrs. Webb.
Renner continued to provide most of the nightās improvisation, regularly ad-libbing and gesturing for the amusement of the audience. He even blurted out āshitā at one point, and during the wedding scene in Act II, when George is asked if he takes Emily to be his bride, he shouted, āHell yes!ā In another moment, when Evans as Mr. Webb asked George how he was doing, Renner replied, teasingly, āFine, fine, fine ⦠I have page 12.ā
Georgeās part is dialogue-free in the third act, so Rennerās clowning ceased as Johansson took the play into its sentimental conclusion. She appeared to cry her way through Emilyās famous posthumous monologue about the under-appreciated beauty of the world, giving what was truly one of her best performances in years. Those final moments, concluded with Downey Jr.ās final narration, brought a sober reminder of why everyone was there: to provide aid to people affected by a disaster.
The event, which included a post-reading meet-and-greet with the cast, raised $500,000 for the Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund at the Center for Popular Democracy.
CORRECTION: Though Danai Gurira had been scheduled to play Georgeās mother in the November 7 stage reading, she was unable to attend. The role was played by Brittany Inge. The credit has been updated accordingly.