Staples Players Present "The Children's Hour"

This Memorial Day weekend, the Staples Players present "The Children's Hour," directed by senior Caley Beretta, in the Black Box theatre.

The play by Lillian Hellman is about a malicious youngster who starts a rumor that turns into scandal. The 1934 drama is set in an all-girls boarding school run by two women. When a student runs away and doesn't want to return to school she tells her grandmother that the two headmistresses are having a lesbian affair.

Assistant Director Peter Molesworth, a junior at Staples High School, said the play was quite controversial when it was written because "it deals with subject matters practically unspoken of in the thirties."

"It's a compelling drama that features some of our finest actors," he said in an e-mail to Westport Patch. "Caley Beretta, the President of Staples Players, is the director of the production and it is her full-length play directing debut. Caley has been a huge part of Staples Players while at SHS — assistant directing every Main Stage, elected secretary her junior year, and elected president her senior year —and this show is a very big deal for the players organization."

The intimate venue in the Black Box intensifies this powerful and suspenseful drama. Seating in is reserved and extremely limited. A small number of seats may be available only at the door, beginning 30 minutes before curtain. Parental guidance is strongly suggested for the subject matter. No one under 10 years old will be admitted.

The student-led production runs at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee show also on Saturday, in the black box theatre at Staples High School. Tickets are $10 each, and can be purchased online at http://www.staplesplayers.com or half an hour prior to curtain. 

To see a YouTube trailer of the play, click here.

Here is The Children's Hour Cast List:

 Martha Dobie……………………………………..…..Madeline Seidman

Karen Wright……………………………………………..Andie Levinson

Mrs. Amelia Tilford…………………………………….Kathryn Durkin

Mrs. Lily Mortar………………………………….…..Jessica Oestricher

Agatha………………….………………………………….….....Alexis Lacey

Dr.Joe Cardin………………………………………………..….Clay Singer

Grocery Boy……………….……………………………..…...…Tyler Jent

Mary Tilford……………………………….…………Charlotte Weber

Peggy Rogers……………………………………………....Sofia Ribolla

Evelyn Munn………………………………………….…Jamie Yarmoff

Rosalie Wells……………………………………………Meaghan Elliot

Catherine……………………………….……..Alexandra Rappaport

Lois Fisher……………………………………………Michelle Pauker

Helen Burton……………………………..…………Sami Schwaeber

Janet…………………………………..……..Grace McDavid-Seidner

Leslie…………………………………………………………….Allie Daut

Abigail…………………………………………Micheaela MacDonald

Understudy for Cardin….Tyler Jent

Understudy for Agatha/Mortar…Lauren Weinberger

Understudy for Peggy/Evelyn...Danielle Honigstein