Theophilus Lewis
Last Updated on June 7, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 161
[In Now Is the Time for All Good Men] the leading character is a typical member of the New Left. That is to say, he attacks conservatism with ridicule, irreverence and civil disobedience and cries "foul" when the establishment fights back with nightsticks, tradition and the veterans' organizations.
Portrayed by playwright Gretchen Cryer in a sympathetic light, Mike Butler is a rather likable young man with an abundance of moral courage and, by normal standards, an unsavory past…. Measured by his own ethic and that of his New Left peers, he is a latter-day Thoreau. (pp. 421-22)
While Gretchen Cryer's story is obviously slanted toward the Left, it is a true reflection of life in numerous communities where "liberal" educators are confronting conservative school boards. And her play is really a play, rather than dramatic special pleading. (p. 422)
Theophilus Lewis, "Theatre: 'Now Is the Time for All Good Men'," in America (© America Press, 1967; all rights reserved), Vol. 117, No. 16, October 14, 1967, pp. 421-22.
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