As 8 p.m. comes and goes, the audience gossips audibly and cast members chat among themselves onstage. Murmurs of “I’m so confused” grow louder as actors wander offstage to offer refreshments and chat with the audience. Poulton Hall has become a different kind of theater, one in which the comfort of the audience is paramount.
In favor of interaction and creativity, Mask & Bauble and the Theater Program’s collaborative production of Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock veers away from pretension and sterility. Under the direction of Prof. Francis Tanglao-Aguas, MFA, this opera is an interactive musical ride through a colorfully eccentric alternative universe startlingly similar to our own.
Focusing on union organization in Steeltown, USA, The Cradle Will Rock hones in on the power plays among the moneyed few, the many who pander to the wealthy, and a handful of impoverished and sincere workers. Their interaction forces the audience to question class politics and personal and artistic integrity in a world where everything’s for sale.
Tanglao-Aguas resets The Cradle Will Rock in modern-day D.C., allowing for visual and mental transcendence of themes from seventy-five years ago. The time and the regime may have changed, but Blitzstein’s ideas are still pertinent. The Cradle Will Rock showcases the corruption of every “American” value, from the freedom of the press to the nobility of some wars to the relationship between politics and art. While almost absurd characters sing and dance onstage, the audience must analyze the truths behind the nation’s great socio-political machine.
And absurdity abounds in the production. Swimming in sex, this production is full of shock value. The characters’ hips gyrate as they belt out words that lay them prostrate to the villain. The Cradle Will Rock an odd romp through a world in which strip-teases and gender-bending characters are the norm.
The antics of the cast assure that no audience member will leave without a laugh, but the cast members are on different planes. A clear division exists between actors who embody their characters, taking advantage of the roomy stage and belting out their songs, and those who still seem self-conscious and move and sing less fluidly.
Dynamic and explosive, actors are at their best when they flamboyantly take advantage of the opportunity to act utterly ridiculously. Cradle’s intensely ironic comedy sparkles when Christina Ciocca (CAS ‘05), Michael Benz (CAS ‘04), Gib Cima (CAS ‘04), and Isaiah M. Wooden (CAS ‘04) take the stage.
Besides those individual performances, certain scenes simply lack emotional intensity. When the plot takes a sharp turn hinted at by many of the emotional scenes, the audience is often left behind to catch up. The ensemble cast can’t quite lead the audience into the growing tension. Though comic chemistry abounds, emotive and romantic chemistry falls short.
Blitzstein’s creation of a uniquely American hodgepodge of musical styles-incorporating classical, ragtime, Gilbert & Sullivan, contemporary love songs and jingles-provides the audience with a unique musical experience. Under the musical direction of Dr. Paul Alan Levi, the diverse voices within the cast prove surprisingly strong. In each musical number of three voices, at least two are confident and clear. Chorus pieces are well done, and even if some voices waver, they’re never painful.
Designed by Maggie Ilkiewicz (CAS ‘04), the spacious set is awash with tones of tan and gray. These neutral colors allow the large ensemble cast to move within two separate but fluid spaces. Costumes, designed by Cora Weissbourd (CAS ‘06), whimsically and appropriately embody each character. Characters are fitted, either flamboyantly or demurely, with costumes that give the audience constant visual reminders of how they fit into the social landscape.
As the cast becomes more comfortable within their envelope-pushing production, The Cradle Will Rock will flourish. Even now, the production is a successful in it’s ambition, most notably the goosebump-inducing finale. You’ll leave with titillating images burning in your mind and laughter on your lips. And after further reflection on Cradle’s themes, life begins to bizarrely resemble art.
