The Cradle Will Rock

The Cradle Will Rock
Poster from the Federal Theatre Project, Work Projects Administration production 1937
Music	Marc Blitzstein
Lyrics	Marc Blitzstein
Book	Marc Blitzstein
Productions	1938 Broadway 1947 Broadway revival 1964 Off-Broadway revival 1983 Off-Broadway revival 1985 West End

The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 musical by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman.

Story

The musical is a Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed. Set in "Steeltown, USA", it follows the efforts of Larry Foreman to unionize and otherwise combat wicked businessman Mr. Mister. Blitzstein portrays a whole panoply of societal figures: Mr. Mister's vicious, outwardly genteel philanthropic wife and spoiled children, sell-out artists, poor shopkeepers, immigrant families, a faithless priest, and an endearing prostitute named Moll. The piece is almost entirely sung-through, giving it many operatic qualities, although Blitzstein (as he often did, even in his full-blown operas) included popular song styles of the time.

Original production

Originally set to open at the Maxine Elliott Theatre with elaborate sets and a full orchestra, the production was shut down due to "budget cuts" within the Federal Theatre Project—though it was widely believed that this was instead because of accusations that it is pro-communism. The theatre was padlocked and surrounded by armed servicemen, ostensibly to prevent anyone from stealing props or costumes, as all of this was considered U. S. Government property. They even impounded leading man Howard Da Silva's toupee.

On the spur of the moment, Welles, Houseman, and Blitzstein rented the much larger Venice Theatre and a piano, and planned for Blitzstein to sing/play/read the entire musical to the sold out house which had grown larger by inviting people off the street to attend for free. Blitzstein encouraged cast members to say their lines from the audience, to exercise their right of free speech.

Just after beginning the first number, Blitzstein was joined by Olive Stanton, the actor playing Moll, who joined in from the audience, since she (along with the rest of the cast) was forbidden by Actor's Equity to perform the piece "onstage". During the rest of the performance, various actors joined in with Blitzstein and performed the entire musical from the house. Actors sang across the theatre to one another.

Many who attended the performance, including poet Archibald MacLeish, thought it to be one of the most moving theatrical experiences of their lives. The success of the production led Welles and Houseman to form the Mercury Theatre.^[1]

Later productions

• Following the impromptu opening and a brief run at the Venice Theatre (later renamed the New Century Theatre) in July 1937, the production reopened on January 3, 1938 at the Windsor Theatre under the auspices of the new Mercury Theatre Company. It played a total of 108 performances.
• The Cradle Will Rock was performed shortly after its initial New York production by students at Harvard, with a young Leonard Bernstein at the piano.
• The musical was revived on Broadway on December 26, 1947 at the Mansfield Theater (subsequently moving to the Broadway Theater) with a cast that included Alfred Drake, Will Geer, Vivian Vance and Jack Albertson. The production was directed by Howard Da Silva and played 34 performances.
• Blitzstein's rarely heard orchestrations were used in a February 21, 1960 broadcast by the New York City Opera featuring Tammy Grimes and David Atkinson.
• The show was revived Off-Broadway in 1964 in a production starring Jerry Orbach, directed by Howard Da Silva. Leonard Bernstein acted as music supervisor.
• The Acting Company presented an Off-Broadway production in 1983, directed by John Houseman and featuring a spoken introduction by Houseman. This production was premiered at The Acting Company's summer home at Chautauqua Institution.
• The show was revived once again in 1985 featuring alumni members of The Acting Company this time London's West End. In this production Patti LuPone played Moll and was honored with an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

• William J. Norman has written a musical called Un-American Activities about the Orson Welles' and Blitzstein's original production. The musical features scenes from The Cradle Will Rock.

Tim Robbins film

In 1999 writer/director Tim Robbins wrote a semi-fictional film recounting the original production of The Cradle Will Rock. The film, entitled Cradle Will Rock (without the "The") blended the true history of Blitzstein's show with the creation (and subsequent destruction) of the original Diego Rivera mural in the lobby of Rockefeller Center (actually the Rivera mural was destroyed in 1933). Several of the original actors from the 1937 production were included as characters in the film, notably Olive Stanton, John Adair, and Will Geer, while others were replaced by fictional characters. Leading man Howard Da Silva was replaced by the fictional "Aldo Silvano" (John Turturro). Although Will Geer played Mr. Mister in the 1937 production, for the movie he was recast in the smaller role of the Druggist and a fictional actor named "Frank Marvel" (Barnard Hughes) portrayed Mr. Mister.

The film's climax recreates scenes from the original, legendary performance of the show, performed by veteran Broadway performers Victoria Clark, Gregg Edelman, Audra McDonald, Daniel Jenkins, Erin Hill, and Chris McKinney.

Robbins wrote a book (Cradle Will Rock: The Movie and the Moment, published by Newmarket Press) about the original show, his adaptation, and the filming of the motion picture.

Notes

1. ^ The details of the first production were recounted by John Houseman in an introductory speech to a 1983 production by The Acting Company, recorded by Jay Records, and are also included in Houseman's memoirs.

External links

• The Cradle Will Rock: Fan site and research hub
• The Cradle Will Rock at the Internet Broadway Database