of his life in New Jersey after the
war. His story served as the start-
ing point for the play.
Cureton was also interested in
the involvement of other people
from New Jersey, which led the
play to become so Jersey-centric
that East Lynne Theater reminds
people that, “we understand that
many people from many states
actually went overseas to fight. It
wasn’t just people from Jersey!”
In addition to Sergeant Dilkes,
other characters include poet
Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), pilot
Kenneth Russell Unger (1898-
1979), nurse Amabel Scharff
Roberts (1891-1918), “Hello Girl”
Grace Banker (1892-1960) and
other Americans who went to Eu-
rope when the United States en-
tered first entered the war. The
play is based on Dilkes’ book
and other historical sources.
“I think it’s always a good re-
minder to inform people that
there is a pattern to everything
and a pattern to history,” said
Stahlhuth. “World War I was the
‘war to end all wars.’ One hun-
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NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 8
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