The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Jantta ry 28, 1927 WILMETTE LIFE 53 "ERSTWHILE SUSAN" ·s h~ at Ill, Newest Offering of New Trier Dramatic Club to Be Staged in Auditorium February 19 By G. IV. C. .\ ~ mall Pennsylvania Dutch tO\\·n. iull of unbeautiful, narro\v-minded ,,l'ople: a mean old Dutchman whos_e hr..tin is warped and who rule s ht s childrrn with a st rap; a 10\·ely girl, ., 1ppressi ng hersc:l f and her (J\\"n fine irl va" because of her fear of her father; ;, 11 eccen tric woman, once an actress, ,,- ] 1 ·~~ earnestly wishes to br ing hea uty to the Pennsylvania Dutch people. 1lt'rc are some strong in g redient s \rhic h. \Yhen mixed together. surely ,ho uld form a plot containing- many laughs, many dramatic moment s, and not a few tears. And that is just what t hcse ingredient s do, for th ey form the basis of a play called "Erstwhile ~u-;an," the authm of which is ~farian De Forest. "Erstwhile Su. an." which was ftrst produced in 1916 \\·ith ~r rs. Fiske in the title role, has been selected by the .\'ew Trier High school Dramatic club ior its second production of the sca"o n. They wil.l present the play on Sa turday. February 19, in the Xcw Trier auditorium. This play is a splendid vehicle for :tctn rs who really are willing to gin~ to the utmost that theY ma\' make a fi nc production. It is . a s tt.btle play. for underneath it s sugary coat of laughter there is a t1ercenc S:'. almost aki n to tragedy. The author has thro\\'n the spotlight on those Pennsylvania t0wn sfolk of which . he write s. To be sure . . he turn s the spotlight on in such a \raY that the humorous :-,ide of the se pe(~ple is shown. Hmve,·e r. the dark . . ide of them can also he .~ccn-thcir narrowness, their selfishness, tlH'tr t(Jta l lack oi education and the finer t hings of life. And among the se people -his people-is one Barnah\' Drea r\'. 1 :1 man who governs his t~wtherlc ss rhilclren tyrannically and keep s hi s \'<Jtlng daughter from e\·crythin .t. :" cxn ·pt work. He think . oi her n(Jt as :t human being hut as a sort oi ma~·hine, made to \\·as h clothb and scr uh and cook for him and hi~ sons. Hi..; theory is that ·~the place fur femalcc; i~ at home, a -<loin' the work." :\ nd hi . .; sons. hig animals that the\· arc. :tccc pt this thc.or~· as being· quite natural. As for Barnabetta. the da ughtcr. wh o really has a tine mind and i~ rager to learn, she is to he pitied. She. too. ac-cepts her father's idea about women, and \vor.ks and \Vorks until she almost loses her pcrs·ona lity, until she is more of a machine than a living person. Then into this community of · Pem~ -;yh·ania Dutch and into ~he Dreary home comes Miss Juliet 1filler, erstwhile Susan, a woman .who is eager to show those narrow people all that they are missing in life and how they r~n better them selves. She also destres to help Barnabctta and free her I from ~cr sordid surroundings. To accomplt sh thi s she marries Barnaby J?reary, just wind s him around her little finger. Then sparks begin to fly. The .whole Dreary family, with the exceptiOn of Barnabetta, are uneducated and crude in their actions and ideas. The new Mrs. Dreary is educated and e.ccentric, and her extreme sophisticatiOn clashes constantly with the Drearys'. minds. How she conquers the fanuly and the town in spite oi ' the fa'Ct that one of the 'sons dug up an unsavory episode of her past, is the. play. And an exceedingly interestmg play it is. of cr nc es l~e cin ll' The Church and You Non-church-goers, though they be personally above reproach, shirk part of their duty to the State and to their fellow men. Problems of morality and spirituality can be solved only through religious influences. The Church alone is organized to disseminate these influences, and the solution· of these problems is vital to the State. The Church needs you. The State needs the church. You need the church and the State. Prove yourself a good citizen; show your gratitude for the good things you have in life by going regularly to church- any church. - ol e. ly >t re le 11. 1- rrll e )f s. (' 1- 11 d e s · k t 0 c1 s · Directory of Churches: St. John's Lutheran Church Wilmette and Park Avenues The Fust Presbyterian Church Ninth Street and Greenleaf ..&..venue Rev. Herman W. Meyer Rev. George P. Magill Farst Congregational Church Lake and Wilmette Avenues Wilmette English Lutheran Church Greenleaf Avenue and Snentb Suut Rev. Stephen A. Lloyd Rev. William Guise St. Augustine's Episcopal Church 1140 The Fttst Methodist Church Lake and Wilmette Avenues Wilmette Avenue Rev. Hubert Carleton Rev. Horace G. Smith The Wilmette Baptist Church Forest and Wilmette Avenues Rev. Francia C. Stiller P.blishtd by tAt lflltrelltwcla Advtrlilirtg Cofll.fllil~t, Wil~Mtlt ChNrch Ftdtrt~litm . 0~ the seventeen largest cities in IlhnoJs, Rockford is the highest, having an . elevation of from 716 to 730 feet; Qumcy is the lowest, being from 360 to 488 feet above sea level.