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FGCU TheatreLab produces Wilder's 'Skin of Our Teeth' as part of America250 celebration
By Tom Hall
November 13, 2025 at 4:46 PM EST
Thornton Wilder is one of America’s most celebrated playwrights. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: one for his 1927 novel, “The Bridge of San Luis Rey,” and the others for his plays “Our Town” and “The Skin of Our Teeth.” Wilder wrote “The Skin of Our Teeth” shortly after the United States entered World War II, and it’s a satirical allegory of Americans’ and the whole human race’s indomitable will to survive. It's a poignant slice of Americana and the perfect production to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The Antrobus family represents the archetypical American nuclear family, with its typical tension between the man of the house and the woman who actually runs it. (4182x3321, AR: 1.2592592592592593)
Yet the play is replete with irony and humor. In it, the Antrobus family represents the archetypical American nuclear family, with its typical tension between the man of the house and the woman who actually runs it.
“Mr. Antrobus likes to think he’s the man of the house, but he’s really not,” observed Brielle Midler, who plays Momma Antrobus. “Mrs. Antrobus is a very powerful figure in the family, even if her own family doesn’t view her that way. She knows what’s right for her house and her family, and she always sticks to that.”
Wilder pokes fun at the notion of the prototypical Judeo-Christian family by giving them a maid and the Mr. a mistress. Her name is Sabina, and she’s played with vim and vigor by Janie Kate Knowles.
A true drama queen, Maid Sabina (Janie Kateknowles) pictured with Mrs. Antrobus (Brielle Midler) will do anything for attention. (3591x3383, AR: 1.0614838900384274)
“She’s very childish, but seductive,” Knowles noted. “It’s kind of like Betty Boop, where it’s childish innocence, but also overly sexualized. She’ll do anything for attention.”
The built-in conflict between Mrs. Antrobus and Sabina is just one reason to see this play.
The antics are over the top, the costumes and sets are otherworldly and Barry Cavin’s well-directed cast ensures that all of us survive three human extinction events — an ice age, a great flood, and a catastrophic war — by the skin of our teeth.
Ice Age Antrobus is prone to fits of rage. (4153x3410, AR: 1.2178885630498533)
MORE INFORMATION:
The Play’s Political Commentary
Thornton Wilder’s dramatic masterpiece, “The Skin of Our Teeth,” opened on Broadway in November of 1942, less than a year after the United States entered World War II. On the heels of the Great Depression (1929-1939), the war meant more sacrifice and hardship for the average American family coupled with more fear, loss, and anxiety about the future of humanity.
The play follows the Antrobus family through the ice age, a great flood and a catastrophic war. The name is a combination of the Greek word for “human,” anthropos, and the Latin word for “all,” which is omnibus.
Lest the reference to the Bible’s first family, Adam and Eve, isn’t readily apparent, the Antrobuses named their son Cain, but changed it to Henry after he killed his brother with a stone shot from his slingshot.
'The Skin of Our Teeth' follows the Antrobus family through the ice age, a great flood and a catastrophic war. (3737x2980, AR: 1.2540268456375838)
The maid/mistress’ name, Sabina, is another Biblical reference, this time to Lilith. There are competing versions of Lilith’s position in the Bible. The Judeo-Christian version is that she was banished from the Garden of Eden after refusing to obey Adam. The other construction, which vanished toward the end of the Middle Ages, was that Lilith left the Garden of Eden rather than accede to Adam's demands that his wife be subservient. Under this version, Lilith and Adam were created at the same time and from the same clay, as compared with Eve, who was made from one of Adam’s ribs to ensure her subservient status.
Janie Kate Knowles plays Sabina for FGCU TheatreLab in Thornton Wilder's 'The Skin of Our Teeth.' (4935x3410, AR: 1.4472140762463344)
In either case, Wilder uses the character of Sabine as a metaphor for the independent and self-directed woman who represents an ever-present threat to male dominance, monogamy and the sanctity of the Judeo-Christian nuclear family.
The cast of FGCU TheatreLab's production of Thornton Wilder's 'The Skin of Our Teeth' boast a strong ensemble that finds itself in unusual situations. (4355x3410, AR: 1.2771260997067448)
The Play’s Significance from the Perspective of Theater History
Aside from its political commentary, “The Skin of Our Teeth” was significant for the theatrical innovations Wilder introduced to tell the story of the Antrobus family. For example, Wilder used numerous surprising, illogical and humor artifices to represent the unconscious mind.
The cardboard furniture and masks worn by the Antrobuses' pet dinosaur and wooly mammoth remind the audience they are actually watching a play. (3749x3163, AR: 1.1852671514385078)
Wilder employed the tactics of Bertolt Brecht and epic theater by constantly reminding audiences that they are watching a play. The furniture found in the Antrobus home is constructed of cardboard. There’s a television set mounted stage right that introduces each act. And an actor walks across the stage at the end of acts one and two with a hand-printed sign that says, “Intermission.”
Janie Kate Knowles traipses across the stage with a hand-printed sign during intermission that reminds the audience they're watching a play. (4669x3427, AR: 1.3624161073825503)
For all of these artifices, the play resonates with audiences because it involves relatable events that recur in the course of human experience such as marriages that continue in spite of marital infidelity, a parent’s protection and love for a child who has done something terrible and making sacrifices for the sake of one’s family.
Wilder used numerous surprising, illogical and humorous artifices to represent the unconscious mind. (3397x2861, AR: 1.187347081440056)
Play Also Pushes Cast and Crew’s Skills and Talent
FGCU Theatre Professor Barry Cavin also chose to produce “The Skin of Our Teeth” at this time because it uniquely challenges his cast and crew to expand their acting and technical skills. That was certainly the case of Brielle Midler, who plays Mrs. Antrobus, and Janie Kate Knowles, who plays her maid and Mr. Antrobus’ mistress.
Brielle Midler plays Mrs. Antrobus for FGCU TheatreLab in Thornton Wilder's 'The Skin of Our Teeth.' (3207x3178, AR: 1.0091252359974827)
“Obviously, I'm not a mother, and a lot of what she goes through I have not experienced yet,” remarked Midler. “So, it was really interesting getting to figure out and personalize things that I've gone through that are similar to her challenges and getting to really make it truthful and honest so I can honor the women who have been through some of these things. That was the most challenging but really rewarding thing about the show.”
Although Midler appreciated Cavin’s direction, she also relied on her own mother to better understand her character.
“I talked to my mom a lot,” Midler shared. “I talked to my mom about some of the things she went through in her marriage with my dad and how it made her feel and how she stuck to herself through some of the challenges and hardships, and I tried to think about that during the rehearsal process.”
As Sabina, Janie Kate Knowles has to vacillate between childishly ditzy and deliberately vampish. (2622x2876, AR: 0.911682892906815)
Knowles had the opposite challenge. It fell upon her to portray a seductress, a cross between Betty Boop and Norma Jean Mortensen a/k/a Marilyn Monroe, a complex dichotomy of childlike innocence and naivete and sultry, sexy seductiveness.
“She is very much not like myself, my personal self,” Knowles pointed out. “I'm kind of more introverted, and she's very out there and extroverted. So, trying to portray that was a bit more difficult, especially trying to get into the character. But Barry's a wonderful director, and he's really helped me kind of move past that, and just not think about it, and just perform as I think this character would perform.”
Knowles made a study of the physical attributes of seduction.
To convincingly play Sabina, Knowles made a study of the physical attributes of seduction. (3932x3326, AR: 1.1822008418520746)
“Physical movement is a big part of it,” she observed. “Really flowy, fluid, and calculated movements … long strides to make her legs look longer … clothes that make her waist thinner … makeup that makes her eyes bigger and her lips bigger. I also give her a lighter voice when she’s acting normally and a flowy kind of Marilyn Monroe-sounding voice when she becomes seductive.”
Then there are her facial expressions, such as smoldering eyes and pouty lips when she morphs into Sabina on the prowl.
To play Sabina, Janie Kate Knowles made a study of the physical attributes of seduction. (2646x2874, AR: 0.9206680584551148)
In addition to relying on Cavin’s direction, Knowles drew inspiration from her experiences as a writer.
“I took Barry's playwriting class here in the theater department, and that was really fun. I wrote a 10-minute play in that class, and I'm planning to continue to edit it and publish it. I have a couple novels that I have ideas for,” said Knowles, who is planning to pursue a master’s in creative writing. “It's easier to create compelling characters when you're able to portray different characters because then you understand different personalities and how people would react to different things. But writing also helps my acting because it gives me a little bit more of creative freedom to see how characters would react in books and then see how they would react on stage.”
Her performance in “The Skin of Our Teeth” is rich and nuanced in spite of her character’s shallowness. It’s one of many highlights in this TheatreLab production.
Remaining performances are Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.
For tickets, telephone 239-590-1000 or visit https://www.fgcu.edu/theatrelab/theskinofourteeth25-26.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
For full disclosure, FGCU holds the broadcast license for WGCU. WGCU is a member-supported service of FGCU.
The Antrobus family represents the archetypical American nuclear family, with its typical tension between the man of the house and the woman who actually runs it. (4182x3321, AR: 1.2592592592592593)
Yet the play is replete with irony and humor. In it, the Antrobus family represents the archetypical American nuclear family, with its typical tension between the man of the house and the woman who actually runs it.
“Mr. Antrobus likes to think he’s the man of the house, but he’s really not,” observed Brielle Midler, who plays Momma Antrobus. “Mrs. Antrobus is a very powerful figure in the family, even if her own family doesn’t view her that way. She knows what’s right for her house and her family, and she always sticks to that.”
Wilder pokes fun at the notion of the prototypical Judeo-Christian family by giving them a maid and the Mr. a mistress. Her name is Sabina, and she’s played with vim and vigor by Janie Kate Knowles.
A true drama queen, Maid Sabina (Janie Kateknowles) pictured with Mrs. Antrobus (Brielle Midler) will do anything for attention. (3591x3383, AR: 1.0614838900384274)
“She’s very childish, but seductive,” Knowles noted. “It’s kind of like Betty Boop, where it’s childish innocence, but also overly sexualized. She’ll do anything for attention.”
The built-in conflict between Mrs. Antrobus and Sabina is just one reason to see this play.
The antics are over the top, the costumes and sets are otherworldly and Barry Cavin’s well-directed cast ensures that all of us survive three human extinction events — an ice age, a great flood, and a catastrophic war — by the skin of our teeth.
Ice Age Antrobus is prone to fits of rage. (4153x3410, AR: 1.2178885630498533)
MORE INFORMATION:
The Play’s Political Commentary
Thornton Wilder’s dramatic masterpiece, “The Skin of Our Teeth,” opened on Broadway in November of 1942, less than a year after the United States entered World War II. On the heels of the Great Depression (1929-1939), the war meant more sacrifice and hardship for the average American family coupled with more fear, loss, and anxiety about the future of humanity.
The play follows the Antrobus family through the ice age, a great flood and a catastrophic war. The name is a combination of the Greek word for “human,” anthropos, and the Latin word for “all,” which is omnibus.
Lest the reference to the Bible’s first family, Adam and Eve, isn’t readily apparent, the Antrobuses named their son Cain, but changed it to Henry after he killed his brother with a stone shot from his slingshot.
'The Skin of Our Teeth' follows the Antrobus family through the ice age, a great flood and a catastrophic war. (3737x2980, AR: 1.2540268456375838)
The maid/mistress’ name, Sabina, is another Biblical reference, this time to Lilith. There are competing versions of Lilith’s position in the Bible. The Judeo-Christian version is that she was banished from the Garden of Eden after refusing to obey Adam. The other construction, which vanished toward the end of the Middle Ages, was that Lilith left the Garden of Eden rather than accede to Adam's demands that his wife be subservient. Under this version, Lilith and Adam were created at the same time and from the same clay, as compared with Eve, who was made from one of Adam’s ribs to ensure her subservient status.
Janie Kate Knowles plays Sabina for FGCU TheatreLab in Thornton Wilder's 'The Skin of Our Teeth.' (4935x3410, AR: 1.4472140762463344)
In either case, Wilder uses the character of Sabine as a metaphor for the independent and self-directed woman who represents an ever-present threat to male dominance, monogamy and the sanctity of the Judeo-Christian nuclear family.
The cast of FGCU TheatreLab's production of Thornton Wilder's 'The Skin of Our Teeth' boast a strong ensemble that finds itself in unusual situations. (4355x3410, AR: 1.2771260997067448)
The Play’s Significance from the Perspective of Theater History
Aside from its political commentary, “The Skin of Our Teeth” was significant for the theatrical innovations Wilder introduced to tell the story of the Antrobus family. For example, Wilder used numerous surprising, illogical and humor artifices to represent the unconscious mind.
The cardboard furniture and masks worn by the Antrobuses' pet dinosaur and wooly mammoth remind the audience they are actually watching a play. (3749x3163, AR: 1.1852671514385078)
Wilder employed the tactics of Bertolt Brecht and epic theater by constantly reminding audiences that they are watching a play. The furniture found in the Antrobus home is constructed of cardboard. There’s a television set mounted stage right that introduces each act. And an actor walks across the stage at the end of acts one and two with a hand-printed sign that says, “Intermission.”
Janie Kate Knowles traipses across the stage with a hand-printed sign during intermission that reminds the audience they're watching a play. (4669x3427, AR: 1.3624161073825503)
For all of these artifices, the play resonates with audiences because it involves relatable events that recur in the course of human experience such as marriages that continue in spite of marital infidelity, a parent’s protection and love for a child who has done something terrible and making sacrifices for the sake of one’s family.
Wilder used numerous surprising, illogical and humorous artifices to represent the unconscious mind. (3397x2861, AR: 1.187347081440056)
Play Also Pushes Cast and Crew’s Skills and Talent
FGCU Theatre Professor Barry Cavin also chose to produce “The Skin of Our Teeth” at this time because it uniquely challenges his cast and crew to expand their acting and technical skills. That was certainly the case of Brielle Midler, who plays Mrs. Antrobus, and Janie Kate Knowles, who plays her maid and Mr. Antrobus’ mistress.
Brielle Midler plays Mrs. Antrobus for FGCU TheatreLab in Thornton Wilder's 'The Skin of Our Teeth.' (3207x3178, AR: 1.0091252359974827)
“Obviously, I'm not a mother, and a lot of what she goes through I have not experienced yet,” remarked Midler. “So, it was really interesting getting to figure out and personalize things that I've gone through that are similar to her challenges and getting to really make it truthful and honest so I can honor the women who have been through some of these things. That was the most challenging but really rewarding thing about the show.”
Although Midler appreciated Cavin’s direction, she also relied on her own mother to better understand her character.
“I talked to my mom a lot,” Midler shared. “I talked to my mom about some of the things she went through in her marriage with my dad and how it made her feel and how she stuck to herself through some of the challenges and hardships, and I tried to think about that during the rehearsal process.”
As Sabina, Janie Kate Knowles has to vacillate between childishly ditzy and deliberately vampish. (2622x2876, AR: 0.911682892906815)
Knowles had the opposite challenge. It fell upon her to portray a seductress, a cross between Betty Boop and Norma Jean Mortensen a/k/a Marilyn Monroe, a complex dichotomy of childlike innocence and naivete and sultry, sexy seductiveness.
“She is very much not like myself, my personal self,” Knowles pointed out. “I'm kind of more introverted, and she's very out there and extroverted. So, trying to portray that was a bit more difficult, especially trying to get into the character. But Barry's a wonderful director, and he's really helped me kind of move past that, and just not think about it, and just perform as I think this character would perform.”
Knowles made a study of the physical attributes of seduction.
To convincingly play Sabina, Knowles made a study of the physical attributes of seduction. (3932x3326, AR: 1.1822008418520746)
“Physical movement is a big part of it,” she observed. “Really flowy, fluid, and calculated movements … long strides to make her legs look longer … clothes that make her waist thinner … makeup that makes her eyes bigger and her lips bigger. I also give her a lighter voice when she’s acting normally and a flowy kind of Marilyn Monroe-sounding voice when she becomes seductive.”
Then there are her facial expressions, such as smoldering eyes and pouty lips when she morphs into Sabina on the prowl.
To play Sabina, Janie Kate Knowles made a study of the physical attributes of seduction. (2646x2874, AR: 0.9206680584551148)
In addition to relying on Cavin’s direction, Knowles drew inspiration from her experiences as a writer.
“I took Barry's playwriting class here in the theater department, and that was really fun. I wrote a 10-minute play in that class, and I'm planning to continue to edit it and publish it. I have a couple novels that I have ideas for,” said Knowles, who is planning to pursue a master’s in creative writing. “It's easier to create compelling characters when you're able to portray different characters because then you understand different personalities and how people would react to different things. But writing also helps my acting because it gives me a little bit more of creative freedom to see how characters would react in books and then see how they would react on stage.”
Her performance in “The Skin of Our Teeth” is rich and nuanced in spite of her character’s shallowness. It’s one of many highlights in this TheatreLab production.
Remaining performances are Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.
For tickets, telephone 239-590-1000 or visit https://www.fgcu.edu/theatrelab/theskinofourteeth25-26.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
For full disclosure, FGCU holds the broadcast license for WGCU. WGCU is a member-supported service of FGCU.