Love's Labour's Lost Performance

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to see Love's Labour's Lost at the Pardoe Theatre. I absolutely loved that it was set in the 1940's. I think that time period is just so fun. I loved the music, and the dancing (Triple Swing!), and the really cute dresses :)
When I first heard that it was going to be set in the 1940's and during WWII, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. I couldn't see how the play could possibly relate to that time period, until I read the "Director's Note" section in the program. Stephanie Breinholt, the director, explained that whenever she read the play, it reminded her of her grandparents, who met similarly as to how the characters met in the play. Between her grandparents there was plenty of witty banter and humor.
So it got me thinking. I further read in the program that in WWII, in order to keep spirits and morale up during such a difficult time, there were United Service Organizations. The organizations consisted of shows and dances and other fun activities. Because of this knowledge, I began to understand the purpose of setting the play in such a time. With Love's Labour's Lost and its play on words and sense of humor, it was obvious that making the play surround a talk show would be a good idea. It's amazing what historical context can do for your understanding :)
In both the play and the performance a common theme was education and the importance behind it. There are multiple forms of education: learning through books and learning through experiences. Ultimately, it could be questioned what the best form of education is, and I guess that can depend from person to person. To me experience can do so much more for someone than just reading a book. It consists of memories and becoming surrounded by the task at hand. In Love's Labour's Lost, the men discover that experience is just as good of a route to take as being scholarly. 
This idea connects to the performance for me in that during WWII, many of the men had to go to war. They had to completely stop what they were doing and pursuing educationally. Through that they earned valuable life experiences that taught them about things in life that perhaps would have been more difficult to learn about from books.