Gay Play Tuesdays: THE CHILDREN’S HOUR by Lillian Hellman (1934)
The Children’s Hour
by Lillian Hellman
March 18th at 7pm
Join us for our next edition of Gay Play Tuesdays, on March 18th at 7pm, when we will read The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman (1934) — a serious and adult play about two women who run a school for girls. After a malicious youngster starts a rumor about the two women, the rumor soon turns to scandal. As the young girl comes to understand the power she wields, she sticks by her story, which precipitates tragedy for the women. At its premiere, Hellman’s The Children’s Hour was a controversial piece. Today, it remains a haunting reminder of the horrors of intolerance.Lillian Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her Communist views and political activism. She was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–1952. As a playwright, Hellman had many successes on Broadway, including The Children’s Hour, The Little Foxes and its sequel Another Part of the Forest, Watch on the Rhine, The Autumn Garden, and Toys in the Attic.
