All hours were the “Children’s” hours last week at Loyola.

The Department of Drama and Speech in special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service staged a production of Lillian Hellman’s controversal play, “The Children’s Hour.”

The subject matter dealt with in the play is all too relevent, especially here on Loyola’s campus.

When Lillian Hellman wrote “The Children’s Hour” in 1934, she shocked audiences with her frank discussion of lesbianism, hearsay, and vindictiveness.

Though it was written in a time where such things weren’t discussed, the play still has the ability to adapt to today’s day society.

The play takes place in New England, where two women, Karen Wright (Kim Lucas) and Martha Dobie (drama junior Gwenevere Sisco) run a small private school for wealthy girls.

The trouble begins when Martha and her aunt Lily (drama junior Daiva Olson) have an arugment over what Lily calls Martha’s “unnatural” affection for Karen.

The roommates of pig-tailed hellion Mary Tilford (drama junior Kristi Jacobs) tell her about what they heard, who then tells her grandmother, Mrs. Amelia Tilford (drama sophomore Kerri Driscoll).

Mary says that she has seen the two kissing and preforming intimate acts on one another, and that they are cruel to her.

Mrs. Tilford quickly tells all the other parents about what her granddaughter has told her, and things begin to fall apart.

The true genius of the play lies in the first act, where the performances were their best.

The dialogue is witty and fast-paced, keeping the audience entertained the entire way.

The set design was simple but dynamic, allowing the mood to easily change with only a minimal amount of movement.

The atmosphere of the theater was dark to begin with, adding to the serious nature of the play.

Every one of the lead characters were amazing, but one shone above all the rest.

Kristi Jacobs’ portrayal of Mary Tilford was exemplary, and she effortlessly stole every scene she was in.

Combining child-like innocence and raw vindictive power, she made the role her own and made many in the audience grit their teeth.

Even the minor but important characters such as Uncle Joe (Marcus Stanley), my personal favorite Agatha (Lydia Anne Burgess), and Rosalie Wells (Ash Minnick) gave an excellent performance.

The director, Anne Kauffman has done wonders with the play. She’s taken simple, yet succinct directions to make the play very dramatic. As a freelance director, I can only hope she’ll come back and do another play here at Loyola.