This thought-provoking production, directed by Joseph Horn, opens at 7 tonight, “Cradle” will run Wednesday through Saturday through Saturday, March 24.

Each Show at Same Time

All performances start at 7 in the Sony Pictures Theatre, on the Culver High campus, 4401 Elenda St. (behind the Robert Frost Auditorium).

Admission is $15 general/$13 ASB, seniors and children. Seating is limited, but reservations can be made online at avpa.org.
The Cradle Will Rock is set during the Great Depression.

Unionism, corruption and corporate greed are some of the themes in this musical, which mixes opera and theater to satirize American capitalism. The author Blitzstein portrays a whole host of societal figures, a manipulative Mr. Mister and his vicious, outwardly genteel philanthropic wife, sell-out artists, poor shopkeepers, immigrant families, a faithless priest and an endearing prostitute named Moll.

A Bumpy Start

The history behind The Cradle Will Rock is one of the more interesting ones in musical theater.

The 1937 production, directed by Orson Wells and produced by the legendary John Houseman, was part of the Federal Theatre Project.

It was originally supposed to open in the Maxine Elliott Theater with elaborate sets and a full orchestra.

On Opening Night, however, the production was shut down — complete with padlocks on the doors and armed guards — ostensibly because of budget cuts within the Federal Theatre Project, but it was widely believed to be due to censorship.

Welles, Housman and Blitzstein rented a piano and a theater down the street, and planned for Blitzstein to sing/play/read the entire musical to the sold-out house. Just after beginning the first number, Blitzstein was joined by Olive Stanton, the actor playing Moll, from the audience. The cast had been forbidden by the Actors Union to perform the piece onstage. Other actors joined in, and they performed the entire musical from the house.

Mr. Horn, the AVPA director, recognizes that this show presents challenges in addition to its historical material. "We’ve been careful to avoid traps,” he said. “The play is an allegory, and the characters are symbolic in many ways. For example, Mr. Mister represents tyranny and corruption, but it would be a mistake to approach him as anything less than the complex character he is."

In 1999, Tim Robbins, now of the Actors’ Gang at the Ivy Substation, wrote and directed a semi-fictional film recounting the original production of The Cradle Will Rock.

The film, "Cradle Will Rock" juxtaposed the story of Blitzstein’s show with the events of the times.

When Mr. Robbins learned the AVPA was performing this play, he said, "The students involved in the AVPA are serious about their craft. From my experience with their work at the Actors’ Gang, they are an adventurous and gutsy group of young actors."

For more information about the Academy, go to avpa.org or contact Tony Spano at 310.842.4200, ext. 6094 or Kristine Hatanaka at 310.842.4200, ext. 6001.