By Emma Campbell
Editor-in-Chief
ecampbell2@smwc.edu
While dimmed blue lights illuminated the faces of two travel-worn men, the audience in Cecilian Auditorium held a collective breath as John Steinbeck’s classic, “Of Mice and Men” performance began.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College students, faculty, and staff, as well as the surrounding community, were treated to a performance by the National Players, the nation’s longest running classical touring company, who returned to campus after last year’s production of “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The play, adapted from the Steinbeck novel of the same name, follows two migrant workers, George and Lennie, and they begin working on a California ranch.
Though humorous moments are distributed throughout the performance, the play focuses on much deeper emotions and humanistic themes including happiness, devotion, racism, morality, mental disabilities, and death.
Though many could have been upset by the forwardness of the plot, sophomore Heather Ennis believed the performance to be very realistic.
“I thought that this production of Steinbeck’s Mice and Men handled the ethical issues surrounding death and dying in a very gritty, but honest way. It was a very realistic portrayal of both life and death.”
With such intense ideas being portrayed, it was very important that the actors played their parts convincingly.
Photo by: Colleen Daum/ The Woods
Junior Ashtynn Masterson believed the National Players achieved that goal.
““I thought that the actors portrayed the characters very well – the body language and facial expressions were amazing. They stayed true to the book and captured the most emotional scenes very well”.
The National Players opened to a large crowed containing everyone from students to Sisters of Providence and members of the outside community.
“I think this play can really speak to students”, said Graduate Student Assistant of Campus Life, Nicolette Cisarik. “Many of them have already read the book in high school, so it’s familiar to them. It also deals with real life topics”.
Ennis agrees, “The sadness of the play is in the realism–there are no strictly good and bad characters. The lines between right and wrong are not always clear”.
Both years’ performances were a part of SMWC’s 4 Star Series. According to the SMWC website, the purpose of this program is to “bring esteemed speakers who inspire, challenge and stimulate the imagination”. It is also used to “enhance the College’s curriculum and to enrich cultural exploration”.
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