MONMOUTH, Ill. — George Bernard Shaw’s “Major Barbara,” which was first staged in 1905, will be performed by Monmouth College’s Crimson Masque April 10-13 in the college’s Wells Theater.

In this sparkling comedy by Shaw, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, Andrew Undershaft, a millionaire armaments dealer played by senior Aaron Cluka of Monmouth, loves self-sufficiency and despises poverty. Meanwhile, his energetic daughter, Barbara, played by senior Katie Mirsky of Hampshire, is a devout major in the Salvation Army. She sees her father as just another soul to be saved.

According to Alisa Roost, assistant professor of communication and theater arts and director of the production, “Major Barbara” is a tragic-comic irony depicting the conflict between real life and romantic imagination.

“Shaw is at his best when he presents witty and sophisticated arguments mouthed by equal adversaries, and ‘Major Barbara’ is one of the most provocatively outrageous comedies in his canon,” she said.

Roost added that Shaw’s play is particularly meaningful this spring as the conflict in Iraq continues to dominate world headlines.

“As America faces war, we need to analyze violence, idealism and the real politic,” she said. “‘Major Barbara’ is timeless in its ability to facilitate this kind of thinking.”

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