Photo courtesy: Quinnipiac University Theater for Community
1918 was a tough year in American history. Many families were left in egregious situations from the Spanish flu and World War I. This hardship is the premise for Horton Foote’s play “1918.” The performance was located in Buckman Theater from April 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. and April 19 at 2.pm. The cast of the play consisted of students and faculty of Quinnipiac University.
From the beginning of the performance the audience was instantly drawn in by feeding off the emotions that the actors portrayed. All actors spoke in a southern accent and the costume design was well thought out to represent the vintage fashion. The set of “1918” was intricate yet simple consisting of the two main settings which was the family house and a nearby graveyard.
The play follows a typical family in 1918 that dealt with World War 1 and the Spanish flu. These two major conflicts trickle into other issues such as pressures to be patriotic, financial struggles, family conflict and more.
The protagonist of the play was Elizabeth Robedaux who was played by Senior Theater major Sara Detrik. Elizabeth was a mother who was trying to keep her family together. She was getting over the death of her first-born child and pregnant with another. She was the mediator in her complicated family life.
Freshman Theater major Ryan Devany played Elizabeth’s husband Horace Robedaux. Horace was admired by his wife’s father because of a purchase he made from $4,000 of war bonds; which would be equivalent to approximately $62,000 today. However, with this purchase came a lot of pressure to continue to impress Mr. Robedaux.
Later in the play Horace fell very ill which scared Elizabeth and the rest of the family because of the baby on the way. There are many times throughout the play that show how this family’s struggles were similar to what most were going through during that time period.
Overall this play was well thought out, well rehearsed, and well executed. Kudos to the cast and crew for putting on a performance that will rank amongst the top shows I have seen in my four years at Quinnipiac.
