'Our Town' makes its Broadway return in revival that eliminates barriers of the past

In a world of endless distractions, there's a small town in a big play asking us to pause, to notice and to really see.

It's 'Our Town,' Thornton Wilder's masterpiece. After some 20 years, Grover's corners has returned to Broadway.

"It is my favorite piece of writing," said actress Zoey Deutch, who plays Emily Webb. "It has sat on my bedside table since I was 14 years old."

"This is one of the most beautiful, powerful things and simple things I've ever put my hands on before," said Ephraim Sykes, who plays George Gibbs. "I'm trying to tell you guys to pay attention to what's happening right now and be grateful for it."

"'Our Town' stands for every town," said Katie Holmes, who plays Mrs. Webb. "This is about people like you and like me."

For Tony-winning director Kenny Leon, this isn't just any revival. It's an 'Our Town' for our time.

"I wasn't a fan of 'Our Town' growing up, everything I'd heard about it was I was a small group of people from New Hampshire who happened to be all white, and they got strange accents, and so I've eliminated all those barriers," Leon said. "I've cast a more diverse group of people, and brown and Black people, a deaf community, physically challenged. The more people you include in this world, the more wonderful it is. And be present with somebody who's even different from you, listen to them, respect them. Those are the themes that I find that are universal and live long past 1901, or 1920 you've got to have life to love. Life is what they call a vicious circle."

Leon's cast reads like a who's who. From Katie Holmes to Zoey Deutch to Ephraim Sykes to Jim Parsons stepping into the iconic role of the stage manager.

"The play's first line that the stage manager speaks is he tells you the names of some of the actors you're going to be seeing," Parsons said. "Then they become the character. It's really unique. It helps all the people on stage bridge that connection between us and the audience is just humans in a room listening to a story. It makes it more effective. I think. There are some things we all know, but we don't take them out and look at them very often."

'Our Town' runs through January 19.