East Lynne Theater Company and The Bickford Present Play on World War I

On Tuesday, March 21, the New Jersey Theatre Alliance will present a staged reading of A Year in the Trenches at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum in Morristown. This new play written by James Rana and developed with Gayle Stahlhuth, artistic director of East Lynne Theater Company in Cape May, was commissioned by the New Jersey Historical Commission and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The play is based on Sgt. Charles Edward Dilkes' Remembering World War I: An Engineer's Diary of the War, as well as other historical sources. The staged reading and Q&A are free and open to the public, and begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ. Call (973) 971-3706 for reservations. A Year in the Trenches will have additional readings at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library on April 28 at noon, and at McGuire Air Force Base on July 18. East Lynne Theater Company will give the play a full production in the fall of 2017.

"The World War I Centennial offers us an opportunity to reexamine a period of history that seems absolutely relevant to today," said Sara R. Cureton, Executive Director, New Jersey Historical Commission. "Questions regarding how the U.S. should engage with the rest of the world, the role of women in society, the treatment of immigrants, the nature of modern warfare, and the meaning of patriotism challenged citizens of 1917, just as they bedevil us now. A Year in the Trenches shines a spotlight on how some New Jerseyans confronted these issues and brings us greater understanding of both the past and present. The Historical Commission is delighted to join with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in exploring this pivotal period of our history through this engaging new play."

Charles Edward Dilkes, who was born in Philadelphia but spent the rest of his life in New Jersey, appears in the play alongside a medley of contemporaries: poet Joyce Kilmer, pilot Kenneth Russell Unger, nurse Amabel Scharff Roberts, "Hello Girl" (switchboard operator) Grace Banker, and other New Jerseyans who went to Europe in 1917, when the United States entered World War I.

"We are proud to co-commission this new play with New Jersey Historical Commission," said Nick Paleologos, Executive Director of New Jersey State Council on the Arts. "Bringing the struggles of the past to life on stage is one of the countless ways that art can bring empathy and understanding to the challenges of the present. And by doing so, it paves the way to a better future."

This free reading, directed by Eric Hafen, Artistic Director of the Bickford Theatre, is one of dozens of events being offered to New Jersey residents and visitors throughout March as part of "The Stages Festival," a statewide festival of theatre offering over 80 theatre performances and programs for children and adults free of charge or at significantly discounted rates. For a full listing of events, program details, and registration information visit stagesfestival.org.

Photo courtesy of Virginia Dilkes

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