This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

History Repeats Itself in 'Cradle Will Rock'

Foreclosures, unemployment and the effects of a media monopoly play out wonderfully in this remake of a classic 1937 musical.

It’s a time when middle class people have their homes in foreclosure, unemployment is rampant and big business is paying off the press, religious leaders, artists and musicians, as well as doctors and educators to maintain the status quo. Sound familiar? Of course it does. It all happened from 1915 to 1917 and again during the Great Depression. It is the focus of Marc Blitzstein’s classic 1937 American musical The Cradle Will Rock. 

 As it turns out, the only difference between then and now is that there were industrial jobs to be had in those days. But In 1937, Blitzstein’s scathing satire of greed, corruption and politics was so scandalous that the U.S. Government’s Works Progress Administration, who financed the Group Theatre production, shut it down. But director Orson Welles, with the cast and musicians, refused to be silenced. They walked the audience up the street to an empty theater and performed without sets or costumes on an empty stage with Blitzstein narrating from the piano. It was an historic moment in American theater.

The play rings just as true today in the Blank Theatre Company’s production at the Stella Adler Theatre. Performed under Daniel Henning’s brilliant direction on a bare stage with only chairs and a piano, The Cradle Will Rock is set just prior to America’s entry into World War I, steel workers are only being paid one dollar a day, and this after a raise. 

Find out what's happening in Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The entire economy of Steeltown is suffering. The workers are trying to organize a union and institute collective bargaining. But Mister Mister, owner of the steel mill, will have none of it. He buys off religious leaders, he buys the newspaper, and he endows the local university to create a paramilitary force to be at his disposal. He pays doctors to write phony autopsies and hide his complicity in murders, he gives grants to artists and musicians in an effort to strengthen his image. He controls the police and jails anyone who won’t conform to life as he wants it.

Today, it’s termed the same old story. But in those days the very thought of saying such things was labeled as socialist and communist.  And perhaps it was.  Blitzstein’s music borrows heavily from Kurt Weill’s music that was written for Bertolt Brecht’s plays. Regardless of its political outlook, it is fine music.

Find out what's happening in Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The cast of nineteen, consisting of Tiffany C. Adams,  Will Barker,  Gigi Bermingham, Christopher, Carroll, Rob Roy Cesar, Matthrew Patrick Davis, Mikey Hawley, Jim Holdridge, Jack Laufer, Roland Rusinek, Meagan Smith, Rex Smith, Lowe Taylor, David Trice, Peter Van Norden, Matt Wolpe, Adam Wylie and Penelope Yates commits itself to every moment of the show.  Henning’s musical staging is sharp and adds immeasurably to the evening. The presentation is old school and unamplified and on a slightly negative note, several of the cast have trouble getting their voices up over the piano. Still, this is musical theater of a high order. 

 Set, lighting, and property design by Kurt Boetcher, J.C. Gafford, and Michael O’Hara respectively are all well done. Naila Alladin Sanders costumes deserve special mention for bringing color and panache to the production. 

Anyone with an interest in theater, whether it is musical theater or American theater history or just plain American history, should put The Cradle Will Rock on a must-see list.

The Cradle Will Rock performs Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through March 20. The Stella Adler Theatre is located 6773 Hollywood Blvd., on the corner of Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Validated $2 parking is available at the Hollywood and Highland complex. For tickets and information, call 323-661-9827 or go online to www.TheBlank.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?