From the Archives 1893

For much of its history, Xavier has been known for the strength of its theater program. In the early 1890s, one of the school’s most popular productions was Plautus’ The Two Captives (Duo Captivi), with performances repeated by popular demand in both English and Latin in the two-story, 700seat college theater.

In October 1893, students at the College of St. Francis Xavier took the show on the road (in Latin this time) to the World’s Fair in Chicago, where it earned the praise of The Chicago Daily Tribune.

“Considering the work of the students from New York as nothing more pretentious than that of the amateur, it is highly commendable,” the paper noted. “The long, swinging hexameters of Plautus were faultlessly memorized, and the young players revealed strong dramatic grasp.”