Beyond the Horizon

Performances

March 24, 1924

Venue

Illinois Wesleyan Memorial Gymnasium

Synopsis

In this domestic tragedy, there are three figures: Robert, a dreamer who has the soul of a poet; Ruth, his wife, who is mentally his inferior; and his loving brother, Andrew, a true man of the soil. The dreamer gives up his opportunity to travel to the magic far-off places of the world, While his brother, a born farmer goes in his place. The dreamer is unsuccessful as a farmer and disillusioned when his wife, in anger, taunts him with the fact that she never cared for him but has always loved his brother. Following the death of their sickly child, the dreamer is dying of tuberculosis. His brother, after an absence of years, arrives to tell the dreamer how much he means to him and forces the wife to go into the room to tell the dreamer that she has really only loved him all of this time. The wife is too late when she finds that her husband has already passed “beyond the horizon” having never heard the words she was to tell him.

Author: Eugene O’Neill

Historian’s Corner

This show marked Community Players’ first full-length play. “Beyond the Horizon” was the 1920 Pulitzer Prize-winning play for Drama. Due to the length of O’Neill’s work, Act II Scene 2 was summarized in the program. Also, due to illness, Polly Jane Eddy replaced Ruth Hobert in the part of Mary. Polly had only one rehearsal before giving the performance. Also of note, Mr. Rupert Holloway gave a talk on March 18 about Eugene O’Neill, the man and his work, with special emphasis on “Beyond the Horizon.” The talk was in the Art room of the public library and was given one week before the production.