If I say The Cradle Will Rock, some of you will be thinking lullaby and some of you might even be thinking Van Halen. But most of you probably wouldn’t be thinking that The Cradle Will Rock was the first banned musical on Broadway and the first ever musical to have an original cast album recorded. It’s the most famous musical you’ve probably never seen. And its opening night on Broadway in 1937 was cancelled due to a conservative congress being nervous that it’s left-leaning pro-union politics would cause a riot. So, they threatened to pull it’s WPA funding and locked down the theater. But the intrepid director, a very young Orson Welles, found another theater at the last minute, and the audience and actors marched over there and listened to a single piano and the actors singing from their audience seats perform the show. CSC is reviving this history-making show and you can read my full review here.
The Cradle Will Rock Book and Music by Marc Blitzstein, Directed and Designed by John Doyle
WITH: Ken Barnett (Editor Daily/President Prexy); Eddie Cooper (A Dick/Junior Mister/Dr. Specialist); Benjamin Eakeley (Reverend Salvation/Gus); David Garrison (Mr. Mister); Ian Lowe (Yasha/Steve/Professor Scoot); Kara Mikula (Sister Mister/Professor Trixie); Lara Pulver (The Moll/Sadie); Sally Ann Triplett (Mrs. Mister/Professor Mamie); Rema Webb (Dauber/Ella Hammer); Tony Yazbek (Harry Druggist/Larry Foreman).
MUSIC: Music Supervisor (Greg Jarrett); Piano (Ken Barnett/Benjamin Eakeley/Ian Lowe/Kara Mikula)
Costume Design by Ann Hould-Ward; Lighting Design by Jane Cox and Tess James; Associate Scenic Design by David J. Arsenault; Associate Costume Design by Amy Price; Casting by Telsey + Company, Rebecca Scholl, CSA; Press Representative, Blake Zidell and Associates; Production Stage manager, Bernita Robinson; Assistant Stage manager, Stephanie Macchia. Presented by Classic Stage Company, John Doyle, Artistic Director; Toni Marie Davis, Chief Operating Officer. Performances through May 19th at Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets can be purchased at classicstage.org or by calling 212-352-3101.
