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Glen Ellyn's Village Theatre Guild to produce "Trying"
Playwright Joanna Glass brings to the stage the riveting yet touching relationship between an elderly man, who was at the epicenter of world history,
and a bright twenty-five-year-old girl, in the Village Theatre Guild's first production of 2013, "Trying."
"Trying" is the story of the internationally known Francis Biddle, Attorney General under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and main U.S. judge of the
Nuremberg trials. The play is set in 1967 when Biddle is 81-years-old and trying to put his life in order. Elegant, but sharply cantankerous, he
struggles with the inevitability of his age and failing health. His wife has forced upon him a new secretary named Sarah, and the two struggle to find a way to communicate. This richly scripted story illustrates how two strangers, at two dramatically different places in their lives, can unexpectedly and
forever influence each other.
Canadian-born Glass drew on her own experience as Biddle's assistant in 1967-68. "Trying" opened at the Victory Garden Theater in Chicago in 2004.
Sarah Schorr is played by Naperville resident Lisa Dolnics, Judge Biddle by Bloomingdale's Rich Scott.
"This play is true," says director Barbara Burghardt. "This person, extraordinary as he is, was real. He lived in extraordinary times, with
extraordinary talent and impressive power."
"Judge Biddle was an accomplished writer, and a committed linguist, consumed by the importance of language, and dedicated to his own use and vement of words."
"WWII was one of, if not the most significant events in our history. I have always been fascinated by the individuals who happened, by the will of fate, to be in power when this occurred. I'm intrigued as to how they were influenced by these events. Judge Biddle was one such person. I think he looks back at his contribution with both pride and regret," says Burghardt.
"I am fascinated by his eloquence and also his sense of the importance of justice, at a time when justice was very much on the line. He was a passionate, committed, brilliant man."
This year marks the 50th anniversary season of the Village Theatre Guild. Showtimes: Friday and Saturday evenings, Jan 18th through Feb 9th at 8:00 pm with matinees Jan 27th and Feb 3rd at 3:00 pm. The Village Theatre Guild is located at the northwest corner of Butterfield Rd. and Park Blvd. in
Glen Ellyn. For tickets and information call 630-469-8230 or visit www.villagetheatreguild.org.
Village Theatre Guild is the Mystery Photo
in the June Edition of the Glancer Magazine
"Welcome to Glen Ellyn" website
produces video about the Village Theatre Guild
Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2
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