60 Years Later: 1964 Earthquake and 'Our Town' Resurgence
Contributed by Matt Fernandez
Since the turn of the past millennium Anchorage Community Theatre (ACT) has become the best kept secret in our city. Since 2000, Anchorage has seen an increase in cheechakos and the emergence of new local theatres that catered to the community. However, rising out of the shadows has been a goal of ACT since the mid 2010’s. One of their most bankable assets is their over half-century-long historical legacy in our city. One out of several moments, is apt to be celebrated this month, ACT’s production of Our Town at AMU (Alaska Methodist University, now Alaska Pacific University) in 1964.
Anchorage Community Theatre turned 70 last Fall, making the company the longest running live theatre company in the state. And the board and staff at ACT have been making quite a bit deal about that fact since then. Most of ACT’s season of plays has been about commemorating significant performances in its history. Starting with Arsenic and Old Lace, which remembered for their 1957 production that brought Boris Karloff to Anchorage to star. This Christmas it was A Christmas Carol, memorializing the 1953 production that was part of its very first season. There was even a formal gala held at the Hotel Captain Cook last November, a sort of reunion of those who’ve been part of ACT in their own respectable decade, and a reflection on the origins of ACT by an armed forces production of South Pacific, and its continued relationship with the military at post in Anchorage.
Our Town is what’s to be next, opening appropriately in the month of March, since it was this same month 60 years ago that those the likes of Frank Brink, Robert Pond, and James Polsky, to name a few were going about their familiar routine of putting on another ACT play. The show had opened two days earlier, and was ready to perform another night, when at 5:36 PM, a record 9.2 megathrust earthquake hit South Central Alaska. According to Jim Polsky in a 2023 interview, the only thing that remained undamaged was the Our Town banner on 4th and F street. That image of the demolished streets of 4th avenue with the banner of “Our Town” slung across earned a whole new meaning than just an advertisement for a local play. Its image remains the most iconic photograph of the aftermath of the great quake, and the banner to some, a symbol of a city in shambles but still hanging strong above it.
What is less known is the memory that Jim Polsky carries with him to this day. Jim was the lighting designer of the show that played at AMU Grant Hall. In his words, “It was Good Friday, of course, you know when the earthquake hit, and we were going to open that night. Well, needless to say, of course, that wasn’t going (to happen). But, by God, we opened the next Friday night, and the joint was packed! I mean, we couldn’t squeeze another one in.”
Not only does ACT aim to memorialize the events of the 1964 earthquake, but also the moments where the community of Anchorage came together, such as the reopening of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. ACT will do this, 60 years later in a new production of Our Town, directed by Dean Brady with a cast of nearly thirty local Alaskans.
ACT’s Executive Director Matt Fernandez, hopes that more in Anchorage will come to realize that Just like the banner in 1964, not only did it remain, but the theatre company that brought Our Town to Anchorage remains to this day.
Today, ACT’s executive director Matt Fernandez is arranging with the city a raising of new “Our Town” banner across 4th and D in remembrance of that day in Anchorage history and to promote the 60th anniversary production.
The 60th anniversary production of Thorton Wilder’s Our Town will run at the ACT Studio Theatre (1133 E. 70th Ave.) from March 15 to March 31. Showtimes are 7PM Thursdays through Saturdays. Matinees at 2PM on Saturdays, and 3PM Sundays. Tickets can be reserved and purchased at actalaska.org, or by calling Matt or Jasmine directly at (907) 344-4713.