Have you ever had to keep a secret? A really big secret? A secret that could change the lives of those around you?

This year’s Jefferson Street Youth Dinner Theater production, “The Scarlet Letter,” revolves around just such a secret.

The story begins in 17th-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement.

A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast.

A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery.

Hester’s husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never arrived in Boston.

While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child.

She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.

Will she save herself and tell her secret?

Or will she protect the one she loves and keep it?

This lesson of faithfulness in the face of tribulation is one which we all need to think about.

How much do we really love our neighbors? Are we willing to help them even though it may cost us? Do we dare take the road less traveled in order to help those less fortunate than us?

Come explore the cost of such a choice at 6 p.m. tonight, Thursday and Sunday and 7 p.m. Saturday in the Jefferson Street United Methodist Church Family Life Center.

Our senior cast members are Madison Watts as Hester Prynne, Nolan Vaughn as Roger Chilingworth, Caitlin Lofton as the scene designer, Lee Fairbanks as Governor Bellingham, Eric Glatzer as the Beadle and Ramon Vicente as the Seaman.

Dinner includes roasted pork loin, green beans, wild rice, dinner roll and cherry cake.

Adult tickets are $15, students $12 and children $8.

 

Linda Rodriguez

Jefferson Street United Methodist Church member