I think it's pretty widely recognized nowadays that Our Town is not a nostalgic valentine but is a rather dark and despairing play. I wouldn't call it cynical myself, but certainly dark and upsetting. Even when I first read it, at 10 or 12 or so, I felt that way about it, and I never understood why people described it as sentimental or affirmative, but I've seen that less and less over the last 30-35 years.
