Middlesex School - Yearbook (Concord, MA)

Page 39 text:

The Dramatic Club this year presented only two pieces, one the play, The Devil and Daniel Webster, and the other this year's Gilbert and Sullivan show. Hlolanthef' The Devil and Daniel Webster was produced under great pressure, being re- hearsed and staged in the last four weeks of the fall term. The excellence of the play was no small tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Farns- worth. ln the play, Jabez Stone, played by Speed, sells his soul to the Devil in return for prosperity. Later, the Devil, very ably played by Reynolds, calls to collect. Howe ever, Daniel Webster is paying a visit, and after a long argument, climaxed by a speech before a jury of the dead, wins the case. L. Clay, as Webster, showed his oratorical pow- ers to the full, especially when confronted with the jury of the dead. The sweeter side of the play was presented by Caldwell, as Stone's newly married wife, and all were well supported by a group of dancers, recruited mostly from the lower classes. The Gilbert and Sullivan show, lo- lanthe, presented on March l0 and ll, was the twenty-seventh to be produced by the school, and the second to have the profits do- nated to the Red Cross. J. Bisbee and Mead, as Lords Tolloller and Mountararat, very ef- fectively quarreled for the beautiful Phyllis, Dramatics played by Shattuck. Caldwell, as Strephon, eventually won her fair hand through the help of his aunts, the Fairies, led by Austin, their Queen, who pass any bill Strephon de- sires through the House of Lords, The poor Lords, completely captivated and bewildered by this time, finally succeed in marrying themselves oi? to the innocent fairies, while J. Clark, as lolanthe. consoles the unhappy Lord Chancellor by claiming him as her hus' band. Above all, Reynolds must be com- mended for his striking characterization of the Lord Chancellor, and the fairies praised for their unexpected grace and attractiveness. As is usual, the success of the opera was due to Mr. Lamb, who overcame everything from changing voices to chicken pox, and to Mr. Kettell for conceiving and supplying the scenf ery.