ABOUT THE PLAY:
Mother Hicks by Suzan Zeder is a play for all ages depicting the plight of three misfits/outcasts who bond with each other and demonstrate an alternative to the fear expressed by their community needing a scapegoat in troubled times.

Set in 1935 during The Great Depression, the play depicts the small farm town of Ware, Illinois, which has been hit (like many small towns) with the loss of children and elderly due to illness, families broken apart, severe unemployment and scarcity of resources. The gossip mill and general public opinion is that the recluse Mother Hicks is to blame for many, if not all, of the town's problems. The truth gradually comes to light as a folklorist from the WPA/Federal Writer's Project comes to town and begins asking questions, suggesting that witchcraft is not necessarily to blame. The writer's curiosity and the innocent curiosity of the town's young people lead to an unlikely outcome.

The play, produced in collaboration with the Goshen College American Sign Language program, includes a deaf character and several roles of middle school/high school age; this comes at an important time in American society when there seems to be plenty of partisanship, loud expressions of hate, and lots of "blame" to go around.

Mother Hicks is a play we hope resonates with people of all ages. We especially see this as a play for families with themes and characters appropriate for those with students 5th grade and up.

November 10,11,18 at 8 p.m. and November 12 & 19 at 3 p.m. The performance on Nov. 19 is ASL interpreted. Tickets are $5 & $10 to purchase go to goshen.edu/tickets or call 574-535-7566