In 1936, inspired by Bertolt Brecht, Marc Blitzstein set out to create a musical about all kinds of prostitution – of the press, the church, the courts, the arts, the whole system. The result was The Cradle Will Rock, a stage play in the form of opera tinged with the familiar idioms of the American musical. Set in Steeltown, U.S.A, the play examines contemporary feelings about the rising tide of American unionism by tracking dishonesty, fraud, and vice in American institutions from the newspaper to the college university, from big business to the arts. When it was produced, The Cradle Will Rock triggered a political firestorm and changed the face of American theater. This December, Carolina undergraduate performers, under the direction of faculty members Julie Fishell and Terry Rhodes, team up to bring Blitzstein’s master work to life.
The James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, in collaboration with the departments of Music, Dramatic Art, and History, will celebrate this innovative production of The Cradle Will Rock with a thought provoking series of programs. While especially designed for undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences, all events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.
