Hobart and William Smith Colleges

19 February 2026 Between Then and Now By Mary Stone

HWS Theatre opens its spring season with Now Circa Then, an intimate look at memory and meaning.

Hobart and William Smith Theatre opens its spring production with Now Circa Then, a two-person play that blends wit and reflection in an exploration of memory, identity and the tension between past and present.

Written by Carly Mensch and directed by Professor of Theatre Chris Hatch, the production runs Thursday, Feb. 19 – Saturday, Feb. 21 in the McDonald Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Set at New York City’s Tenement Museum, the play follows two historical reenactors whose relationship becomes increasingly complicated as their views of the past diverge. Gideon longs to inhabit history as faithfully as possible. Margie questions whether living in another era comes at the cost of living fully in the present.

As the characters debate authenticity, nostalgia and change, their personal connection deepens — and strains.

The intimacy of a two-actor cast places the story squarely on the shoulders of Kalila Caringal ’27 and Michael O’Sullivan ’27.

O’Sullivan, an English major from Denver, Colorado, made his theater debut at HWS last April in Witch, a re-imagining of a 1621 drama written by Jen Silverman.

Caringal, a Posse Scholar from Los Angeles majoring in theatre and psychological science, has previously appeared in Antigone, The One Act Play That Goes Wrong and Witch, in addition to other HWS productions to which she has contributed, on and off stage.

Beyond performance, she represented HWS at the National Student Voter Summit as part of the HWS Votes initiative.

For Hatch, an actor, theater scholar and director, the play offers students the opportunity to wrestle with questions that extend beyond the stage: How do we honor history without becoming trapped by it? What does authenticity mean in a world constantly reshaped by the present?

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free, with donations accepted, and may be reserved through the HWS Theatre Box Office. Online reservations close two hours before curtain, with remaining seats available at the box office one hour prior to each performance.