The exploration of small-town America has been a common theme in the American musical theatre from the early days of the Golden Age with Oklahoma! (1943) and The Music Man (1957) to more contemporary titles like Footloose (1998) and The Prom (2018). The throughline of these musicals is their depiction of a community in crisis with a singular figure faulted for the initial disruption and ultimately tasked with resolution.
Becki Toth, T.J. Pieffer, and Brad Kemp’s Abduction joins this long lineage of musicals. Only, unlike its predecessors, the setting is not the Midwest—it is somewhere a bit closer to home for Pittsburgh audiences. Try 28 miles north. Abduction’s beloved Pluto, Pennsylvania pulls inspiration from the real-life Mars, Pennsylvania, located in Butler County.
Described as a “prime example of small-town America, where people gather at the local diner and greet each other on the sidewalk,” Mars’ history dates to 1792 when the first settlers arrived, disrupting the land previously stewarded by the Delawares, Shawnees, and Iroquois tribes. Historians disagree about the origins of Mars as the town’s name. Some believe the town received its name from settler Samuel Parks’ wife, who studied astronomy; others credit a shortening of Samuel Marshall’s surname, another early settler of present-day Mars.
For those audiences familiar with Pennsylvania culture, the divide between Eastern and Western PA is a relatively known fact. This divide is evident in the simple “this or that” of the Sheetz vs. Wawa debate. Western Pennsylvania, although not designated by the Commonwealth as an official region, retains its distinct identity because of its separation from the East by the Appalachian Mountains.
Abduction captures this distinct identity in its depiction of a small, relatively rural community, much like the ones that populate Western PA. The stories of these communities can often be told through the trials and tribulations of the immigrants who came to America, seeking opportunity and a better life for their families. In many ways, the stories of these 20th-century immigrants can be told in the variety of religions and languages spoken: Catholic, Byzantine, and Orthodox practitioners each celebrated their religion in a different language.
Abduction celebrates these communities while also subtly (and at times, not-so subtly), poking fun at the traditions that, from an outsider perspective, can seem a bit odd. Our heroine Pippa Peterson is often enamored with and frustrated by her community; and yet, it is her community. The ability to critique institutions while holding space for nuances is a sign of one’s ability to perceive things holistically.
In 2023, in America, in our small-town communities, we are often more alike than we are not. To embrace a diversity of thought is perhaps our greatest strength—and to be able to occasionally laugh at ourselves for our absurdities isn’t so bad either.
Frederick D. Miller
Production Dramaturg