With the exception of the beginning of the show and the trip out of town at the beginning of act two, the entire action of the show takes place in Bomont. And most of the characters we meet call Bomont home. Many of them were probably born in Bomont, grew up in Bomont, went to school in Bomont, met their spouses in Bomont, got married in Bomont, and work in Bomont. This may be the kind of place where it isn't unusual for people to spend their entire lives.
I'm pretty new to Newfoundland, but it seems like our fair province and the town of Bomont have some similarities. Newfoundlanders seem to be fiercely passionate about the island, wanting to spend their lives here and missing it when they are away. The citizens of Bomont (are they Bomonters? Is that what they're called?) probably feel the same way. Big cities be darned, Bomont is a great place to live.
As in many small towns, everyone knows everyone else. Your postman isn't just your postman, he's your neighbor down the street. If you have a problem with homework, you know exactly where your teacher lives, and you could ask him or her for help after school hours. As we see in our show, Ariel's father, Reverend Shaw, is in a Bridge Club with the school principal, the wrestling coach, and the head of the town council. It's a tightly-knit group of people: Ren says he thought living in a small town would be "like one big happy family."
But a town like one big happy family means that everyone knows everyone else's business. This is certainly true of Bomont, as we learn from the terrific trio of Rusty, Wendy Jo, and Urleen, in the song "Somebody's Eyes." It's easy to see how this could happen in a small town. If the teacher is friends with your parents, it's going to be hard to hide that failing test grade.
These are just a couple of things that living in a small town can mean. What else comes as a result of living in a small town? What ideas do we associate with small town living? Do we expect it to be like a big family? How is that true, how is it not? What is it like to go from a big city to a small town? As we explore this show, let's ask these question and think about how our characters are affected by living in this small town.
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