by Jessa Cunningham, dramaturg "You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing."
This is one of the most famous lines from the show, and for good reason. This is how Charlotte expresses her gratitude for Wilbur letting her into his life, and now I would like to use it to thank all of you for letting us involved with the show into your life. Working on this show has helped me to see the important things in life: the friendships we make and how they change us for the better. At the beginning, Wilbur is so concerned about living a long and happy life. He only thinks of himself and the things he may miss out on. However, once he makes friends with Charlotte and the other animals, he sees that the life he has already lived was great. There is more to life than just living a nice, comfortable life. His friends teach him that, and soon he begins to look outside of himself. Wilbur becomes a better animal because of Charlotte and the barn animals. They teach him selflessness, cooperation, kindness, and inclusion. He heart is marked with their lessons and it helps him to see the importance in life. That is what makes Charlotte's Web so special: we get to see Wilbur go on this incredible journey, and by the end he is a completely different pig from who we see at the beginning of the play. At first, Wilbur laments about wanting someone to love him, and by the time the show ends he is ready to extend love to others, which he learned from his friends. The relationships that have been formed because of this show alone would make E.B. White smile. Friendships have been forged within the cast, the design team, the crew, and with you. That truly is an amazing thing, and hopefully that helped you to understand the themes of the play a little better. Thank you for coming to see us, for interacting with us. We hope that you know that all of the Lunch and Learns, the post show discussions, and the interactions with the cast after each performance were all for you. These opportunities brought us closer to you, the audience. We have become friends because of this, and hopefully you all have felt that too. I speak for all of us with the show when I say that we have loved getting to know all of you. My hope is that by watching and interacting with this story, we can all become a friend that encourages, protects, loves, and shows kindness and mercy. Let's all strive to be the Charlotte in our friendships in order to uplift and help others on a daily basis.
