Editing Our Town (section)

==Characters==
===Primary characters===
* '''Stage Manager'''&nbsp;– A narrator, commentator, and guide through Grover's Corners. He joins in the action of the play periodically, as the minister at the wedding, the soda shop owner, a local townsman, etc., and speaks directly to Emily after her death.
* '''Emily Webb'''&nbsp;– One of the main characters; we follow her from a precocious young girl through her wedding to George Gibbs and her early death.
* '''George Gibbs'''&nbsp;– The other 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'''&nbsp;– George's father, the town Doctor.
* '''Julia (Hersey) Gibbs'''&nbsp;–George's mother. She dreams of going to Paris but never does so. She sells an antique piece of furniture for $350, intending to use it for the trip, but instead leaves the money to George and Emily in will. Dies while visiting her daughter in Ohio.
* '''Charles Webb'''&nbsp;– Emily's and Wally's father, Editor of the ''Grover's Corners Sentinel''.
* '''Myrtle Webb'''&nbsp;– Emily's and Wally's mother.

===Secondary characters===
* '''Joe''' and '''Si Crowell'''&nbsp;– 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'''&nbsp;– The choir director and church organist. We never learn the specific cause of his alcoholism and suicide, although Joe Stoddard, the undertaker, observes that "He's seen a peck of troubles." He remains bitter and cynical even beyond the grave. Some critics interpret Simon as a closeted homosexual.<ref>"[https://www.twildersociety.org/2015/12/01/call-for-proposals-queer-readings-of-thornton-wilder/ Call for Proposals: 'Queer Readings of Thornton Wilder],'" ''Thornton Wilder Society,'' Dec. 1, 2015. Retrieved Aug. 28, 2022.</ref><ref>Elliott Kenneth. "The Outsider: Contextualizing Simon Stimson in Our Town." ''Thornton Wilder: New Perspectives,'' edited by Bryer Jackson R., Konkle Lincoln, Northwestern UP, 2013, pp. 121–31.</ref>
* '''Howie Newsome'''&nbsp;– The milkman, a fixture of Grover's Corners. 
* '''Rebecca Gibbs'''&nbsp;– George's younger sister. Later elopes with a traveling salesman and settles in [[Ohio]].
* '''Wallace "Wally" Webb'''&nbsp;– Emily's younger brother. Died of a burst [[Vermiform appendix|appendix]] on a [[Boy Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)|Boy Scout]] camping trip.
* '''Professor Willard'''&nbsp;– A rather long-winded lecturer.
* '''Woman in the Balcony'''&nbsp;– Attendee of Editor Webb's political and social report – concerned with [[Temperance movement|temperance]].
* '''Belligerent Man at Back of Auditorium'''&nbsp;– Attendee of Editor Webb's political and social report – concerned with [[social justice]].
* '''Lady in a Box'''&nbsp;– Attendee of Editor Webb's political and social report – concerned with culture and beauty.
* '''Mrs. Louella Soames'''&nbsp;– A gossipy townswoman and member of the choir.
* '''Constable Bill Warren'''&nbsp;– The policeman.
* '''Three Baseball Players'''&nbsp;– Who mock George at the wedding.
* '''Joe Stoddard'''&nbsp;– The undertaker.
* '''Sam Craig'''&nbsp;– A nephew of Mrs Gibbs who left town to seek his fortune. He came back after 12 years in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] for Emily's funeral.
* '''Man from among the Dead'''
* '''Woman from among the Dead'''
* '''Mr. Carter (Dead)'''
* '''Farmer McCarty'''
* '''Bessie'''&nbsp;– Howie Newsome's horse, visible to the characters, but not the audience.