See Laura Linney Perform a Scene From Our Town in This Exclusive Clip From American Classic

The new series, from the writer of Slings & Arrows and Smash, is streaming on MGM+.

April 02, 2026 By Diep Tran

If you've ever wanted to see Emmy winner and Tony nominee Laura Linney do a production of Our Town, then tune into the new MGM+ series American Classic. In the series, streaming now, Kevin Kline plays a Broadway star who has a nervous breakdown and goes back to his Pennsylvania hometown. There, he decides to revitalize his community theatre by directing Thornton Wilder's Our Town.

The latest episode of American Classic, titled "Camelot," will be released April 7. It sees the Millersburg Festival Theater, after some budget issues and interpersonal drama, missing a Mrs. Webb and a Mr. Webb for Our Town. Enter Linney's character Kristen, the mayor of Millersburg, who gave up her acting career years ago. In an exclusive advance look at "Camelot," Kristen auditions for Richard Bean (played by Kline) by performing a monologue from Our Town. Watch above. The first season of American Classic is streaming weekly on MGM+, with the finale episode out April 12.

As Linney told Playbill: "As far as Kristen is concerned, she's tried to distance herself from her true vocation, she becomes mayor of the town. But what she really should be doing is, she should be in the theatre. Part of the fun of my character, the arc, is how she finds her way back to where she really belongs."

READ: In American Classic, Laura Linney Sings a Showtune and Affirms Her Love for Theatre

American Classic is created by Bob Martin and Michael Hoffman. Following in the veins of theatre workplace comedies Slings & Arrows (which Martin co-created) and Smash, American Classic shows the impact of the arts in people's everyday lives. There are also some familiar theatre names in the cast: Len Cariou, Tony Shalhoub, Jessica Hecht, Jane Alexander, to name a few. Even Aaron Tveit shows up (he plays the snarky partner of a theatre critic).

As someone who grew up doing community theatre, Linney got her start as an underage apprentice at the New London Barn Theatre in New Hampshire, American Classic hits close to home. "My grandmother [Maitlyn Clayball] played Mrs. Webb, when she was a young actress," remembers Linney. "I actually stage managed a production of Our Town in high school. All of us who grew up in the theatre have a deep bond with that play. It is one of the great classics. It will hit you hard no matter what phase of your life you're in, and that's what makes a classic." Would she ever do a live stage version of it? With no hesitation, Linney responds: "Oh, absolutely!"