The seventh scene depicts choir practice at a Protestant church and the concern of choir members for the organist's alcoholic addiction. In almost every social setting, there are people who drink too much and about whom others gossip. The final scene shows these various people retiring for the night. One couple takes a walk to look at the moon. Another person is concerned that his son will take up smoking.
In each scene, the activities represent the normal, day-to-day life of average people. These are the events that comprise human life. They are the facets of living which people take for granted and perform by rote. The older we get, the more we realize the value of these moments — and how little we valued them at the time. After death, they are gone forever. Wilder emphasizes these seemingly insignificant details in order to reverse the usual conception of what is important. Thus, he concludes that it is not the momentous events but the trivialities that become meaningful. To stress the universality of these events, Wilder sets the stage with no scenery, thereby denying dramatic illusion. Because he forces the viewer to fill in the blanks left by the barren stage, each viewer creates an individualized and detailed mental picture. The words that the characters speak become more significant because they are the only source of imagery.
Because Wilder does not build anticipation of events that are to come, the viewer perceives no mysteries to be resolved. Even the matter of Simon Stimson's drinking creates little tension, since the matter is presented mundanely and without alarm. The experience of Act I, ending with a reminder that it is time for smokers to adjourn from the theater, breaks any illusion of traditional drama and reminds the audience that they are not viewing a typical play.
Behind Wilder's emphasis on a bare stage is a subtle understanding of how our minds work during a play. We can imagine any small town. Set on the individual mental stage conjured up in each viewer's mind, the significance of small glimpses of human interaction develops into a major assessment of what makes life worth living. Thus, the audience is left with small, realistic details of life in a small town — in any setting, in any time.
