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Cradle Will Rock, The
Cradle Will Rock, The (1938), a musical drama by Marc Blitzstein (book, music, lyrics). [Windsor Theatre, 108 perf.] Steeltown is run by the rich, greedy Mr. Mister ( Will Geer) who dominates not merely the town's industry but its press, its church, and its social organization. Larry Foreman ( Howard da Silva) organizes the workers into a union and fights for the cause of the little man. Notable songs: The Cradle Will Rock; Nickle Under the Foot. This leftist view of the world through red‐colored glasses has a curious history. Dropped as a WPA project in Washington, its 1937 New York premiere was stopped by an injunction. Led by Mercury Theatre producer John Houseman and director Orson Welles, the cast and audience trekked twenty blocks to another, vacant, theatre where the players, to circumvent the injunction, performed from seats in the theatre. Because the musicians' union refused to cooperate, Blitzstein played the score from an onstage piano. After a series of special matinees, the musical was allowed to begin a regular run at the tiny Windsor. In the climate of the time its radical position won some support, but a 1947 revival was dismissed as an “angry, theatrical prank” and quickly folded. Later Off‐Broadway revivals have sometimes received better press yet have failed to find a large audience.
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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Cradle Will Rock, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Cradle Will Rock, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-CradleWillRockThe.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Cradle Will Rock, The." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-CradleWillRockThe.html |
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Cradle will Rock, The
Cradle will Rock, The. Opera-musical in 1 act by Blitzstein (1936) to his own lib. on conflict between steel magnate and trade union. Prod. NY 1937.
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Cite this article
MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Cradle will Rock, The." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Cradle will Rock, The." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-CradlewillRockThe.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Cradle will Rock, The." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-CradlewillRockThe.html |
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