{"id":360121,"date":"2024-10-08T09:40:30","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T13:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=360121"},"modified":"2024-10-08T09:40:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T13:40:30","slug":"a-rousing-production-of-renegade-the-cradle-will-rock-from-in-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/10\/08\/a-rousing-production-of-renegade-the-cradle-will-rock-from-in-series\/","title":{"rendered":"A rousing production of renegade ‘The Cradle Will Rock’ from IN Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few productions in American musical theater history can claim as thrilling a debut as Marc Blitzstein\u2019s 1937 The Cradle Will Rock<\/em>. Mounted by the energetic young team of John Houseman and Orson Welles under the auspices of the New Deal\u2019s Federal Theatre Project, Blitzstein\u2019s searing attack on the evils of unrestrained wealth and power was ready to premiere in New York when the U.S. Government yanked its support and barred the theater doors. A combination of slashed budgets and growing unease with the production\u2019s left-leaning content was to blame.<\/p>\n

Welles and company seized on a brilliant alternative. Skirting federal and Actors\u2019 Equity restrictions, they found another theater. In lieu of a full orchestra, Blitzstein sat at a borrowed piano on a bare stage and played the entire score alone. The actors sang from seats in the audience, so that technically they were not violating an Actors\u2019 Equity order against participating in an unauthorized performance, and the show went on.<\/p>\n

Wild cheers erupted from the audience and this renegade opera became the stuff of theater legend. In fact, the scaled-down version has become the norm in most subsequent productions.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rob McGuinness, Jacob Heacock, Daniel Fleming, Louisa Waycott in \u2018The Cradle Will Rock.\u2019 Photo by Bayou Elom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Washington\u2019s esteemed IN Series has mounted a rousing new production of The Cradle Will Rock<\/em> as the kickoff to its new season, entitled \u201cIllicit Opera.\u201d Each upcoming production was censored in its own time.<\/p>\n

Blitzstein\u2019s work takes place in Steeltown, USA, a company town ruled by the oligarch Mr. Mister. Seeking to suppress a powerful effort to unionize his business, Mister and his wife corrupt nearly everyone in town with menacing threats and handsome payoff. Only the labor organizer Larry Foreman resists Mister\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no subtlety in Blitzstein\u2019s townspeople. Every one of them is an exaggerated type, from the prostitute Moll and Foreman the organizer to the irreverent Reverend Salvation, the fawning artist Dauber, and the blustering newspaper editor Daily. The wonderfully outlandish costumes by Yvette Pino and Kelly Rakell Foye enhance the cartoonish character of Steeltown\u2019s compromised citizens.<\/p>\n

The score, however, is a marvel of complexity. Insistently modern and constantly shape-shifting, Blitstein\u2019s composition pays homage to masters like Stravinsky along with American genres such as jazz and blues throughout the show. Alternating solo songs and some spoken word with forceful choruses, the score propels us through the Steeltown saga with a palpable tension that never lets up.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The cast of \u2018The Cradle Will Rock.\u2019 Photo by Bayou Elom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shanara Gabrielle directs the talented nine-member cast (Melanie Ashkar, Teresa Ferrara, Cecelia McKinley, Louisa Waycott, Marvin Wayne, Rob McGinness, Daniel Fleming, Jacob Heacock, Daniel Smith). Almost all of them play multiple parts, navigating their quick-changing singing and acting roles with grace and agility. They are accompanied by Music Director and Pianist Emily Baltzer, whose nonstop performance undergirds the production. During a fascinating post-performance discussion, Baltzer noted that her upright piano had been fitted with low-tech thumbtacks and felt pads to provide the combination of warmth and tinniness that she felt the score warranted. Occasionally, however, the voices could not be clearly heard over the accompaniment, blurring Blitzstein\u2019s razor-sharp lyrics.<\/p>\n

Ethan Sinnott\u2019s handsome set recalls Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s classic designs from the era. Combining soaring upright panels, geometric floor patterns, and sturdy intersecting metal grids, the set echoes the rhythmic structure of the music itself. It allowed characters to variously surmount, enclose, imprison, or embrace one another as the action moves from scene to scene. With Paul Callahan\u2019s lighting, the stage set effectively spotlights characters for standout solos such as the Moll\u2019s \u201cThe Nickel Under Your Foot,\u201d and Ella Hammer\u2019s riveting \u201cJoe Worker,\u201d as well as the vaudevillian duet sung by Mister\u2019s spoiled children, \u201cSpoon Croon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc Blitzstein, a Philadelphian of Russian-Jewish heritage, absorbed a natural sympathy for the working class along with his love of music. He studied with some of the most distinguished musical talents of the era, including Arnold Schoenberg, and was influenced by the successful collaborations of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, to whom The Cradle Will Rock<\/em> was dedicated.<\/p>\n

With its clownish characters, strident lyrics, and unequivocal belief in the powers of good and evil, it\u2019s tempting to see this opera as somewhat dated. Nonetheless, look again. The parallels between the 1930s and today\u2019s reboot of totalitarian impulses are hard to miss. The IN Series\u2019 new production is exquisitely timed.<\/p>\n

Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission.<\/p>\n

The Cradle Will Rock<\/strong> <\/em><\/a>plays October 12 and 13, 2024, presented by IN Series<\/a> performing at the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th Street NW, Washington, DC. Purchase tickets ($40\u2013$77) online<\/strong><\/a> or by calling 202-204-7763.<\/p>\n

The Cradle Will Rock<\/strong><\/em> also plays October 18, 19, and 20, 2024, at the Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West Preston St., Baltimore, MD. Purchase tickets ($20\u2013$30) online<\/strong><\/a> or by calling 410-752-8558<\/p>\n

Cast and creative team bios are here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cradle Will Rock<\/strong><\/em>
\nText and Music by Marc Blitzstein<\/p>\n

Director: Shanara Gabrielle
\nMusic Director and Pianist: Emily Baltzer
\nSet Designer: Ethan Sinnott
\nCostume Designers: Yvette Pino and Kelly Rakell Foye
\nLighting Designer: Paul Callahan
\nAssociate Lighting Designer: Mitchell Robinson
\nAssistant Director: Theo Yu
\nProduction Managers: Tori Schuchmann and Willow McFatter
\nTechnical Director: Megan Amos
\nStage Manager: Regina Vitale<\/p>\n

CAST
\nMelanie Ashkar: Moll
\nTeresa Ferrara: Harriet Druggist
\nCecelia McKinley Mrs. Mister, Ella Hammer
\nLouisa Waycott: President Prexy, Sadie, Sister Mister, Cop
\nMarvin Wayne: Larry Foreman, Dick
\nRob McGinness: Mr. Mister, Reverend Salvation, Bugs
\nDaniel Fleming: Editor Daily, Professor Trixie, Steve
\nJacob Heacock: Yasha, Junior Mister, Dr. Specialist, Professor Scoot, Gent
\nDaniel Smith: Dauber, Professor Mamie, Gus<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/strong>
\n\u2018Justice and joy\u2019: Shanara Gabrielle on theater with a social conscience <\/a><\/strong>(interview by John Stoltenberg, September 27, 2024)
\nIN Series announces 2024\/25 season: \u2018Illicit Opera\u2019 <\/a><\/strong>(news story, May 27, 2024)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s tempting to see this 1937 opera as dated, but the parallels to today\u2019s reboot of totalitarian impulses are hard to miss. 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