The St. Michael’s College Drama Club recently performed their end of semester play called A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner. The play took place on November 30 and December 2 at the Traphouse Theatre in the McCarthy Arts center.

The play is set in Germany in 1932 and 1933, which depicts the rise to power by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Kelly Champlain ’19 is the main character in the play. Her character’s name is Agnes Eggling, a 30 year-old German woman who is afraid of what is happening in her country.

Champlain said, “My character becomes afraid to do stuff, and eventually shuts down and becomes a bystander. In the end, she realizes that because she was a bystander, she is responsible.”

Champlain suggested the play to the St. Michael’s College Drama Club because she believed that it has a lot of messages that are applicable to today’s society. When she suggested it to the Drama Club, they loved the idea and fell in love with the play.

In recent years, the issue of polarization has become a prevalent topic of discussion. This play helps provide historic insight into similar issues we are dealing with today. The play itself is set in two different timelines, which jumps between the Reagan Era and Nazi Germany. The two timelines mirror each other, and illuminate the division that was created in those years.

Numerous acting groups who have performed this play in recent months have switched Reagan with President Donald Trump. The St. Michael’s College Drama Club decided to not make this switch. “We wanted to draw parallels without being too intrusive” Champlain said.

Jess Barlow ’18 attended the play and said, “It had the perfect balance of humor and serious reflection regarding the events of WWII in Nazi Germany.” Barlow said, “The play required an intimacy with the audience that would have been lost in a large, grandiose, main stage production.” The Traphouse Theatre is smaller than the main theatre, which is sometimes used by the Drama Club in larger productions.

The play is set in a small apartment and made the Traphouse Theatre the ideal set for the message to be conveyed. “A Bright Room Called Day was a good choice for the Drama Club because the play naturally utilized a small set.” said Barlow. “They were not encumbered with making frequent set changed and building a huge set.”

Main stage productions like Tennessee Williams, which was performed earlier in November received over a hundred people. The Drama Club shows “do not get as many attendees” Champlain said.

In hopes of getting a good turnout for each performance, the club reaches out to academic departments, and pro- motes the play throughout various St. Michael’s College media platforms. Caleb Roman ’19 played the character Gottfried Swetts who is suggested to be the personification of the devil in the historical era of the play. Roman said, “He is a fun character to play and has the best monologue in the show, in my opinion.”

Roman said, “We had many people come to see the show and everyone seemed to really enjoy the production. I was pleasantly surprised with the audience turnout and reception.”