BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan School of Theatre Arts will present the 1930s drama The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman. Performances will take place Tuesday, Sept 27 until Saturday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. A matinee performance will be held Sunday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. All shows will take place in the University’s McPherson Theatre (2 Ames Plaza East, Bloomington).
First staged on Broadway in 1934, The Children’s Hour takes place at an all-girls boarding school run by two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie. When Mary Tilford, one of the young school attendants, runs away and does not wish to return, she convinces her grandmother that the two headmistresses are engaged in a love affair. Her secret spreads throughout the school and community, destroying the lives and reputations of Karen and Martha. Under the direction of IWU Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Thomas Quinn, the cast and crew of The Children’s Hour work to address the fierce potential of secrets kept not only from others, but from ourselves as well.