Theatre Review: The Cradle Will Rock With Corruption
Often, I notice how many young people or people of color are in a crowd; wondering why we are not invited or feel invited. In a time when many classics are adapting to the modern era, John Doyle’s The Cradle Will Rock sticks to Marc Blitzstein’s original style; asking the audience to be willing to travel to the early 1900’s. Yet, this play with music is not the glam and glitz of Hello Dolly. Playing till May 4 at Classic Stage Company, this play gets to the classism and corruption of the 1930’s, which might not seem as inviting or intriguing a topic. Still, it is pertinent.
From the 1930’s language to the smutty set of barrels of toxic, mining waste, The Cradle Will Rock sets up that these characters are POOR, but the question is whether they have pride? Setting up scenes like court cases, each character faces you like a jury, and are shown to be maliciously bought by Mr. Mister; the nefarious owner of the mining company Larry Foreman(Tony Yazbeck) is unionizing against. David Garrison Mr.Mister is a ghostly, self-absorbed figure that is constantly throwing money at the floor to watch others give up their morals to pick it up. It is honestly the most Trumpian imagery I have seen in recent theater, and it makes you uncomfortable in its relevance.
For all that we wish to rise our communities, if the opportunity comes to go up, solely, as an individual, most take it. Hence, Foreman may not be a saint, even saying some racist lines about immigrants, but Yazbeck shows he is a soldier and has enough dignity/ morale to defend the helpless. His level of pride, naturally, scares Mr. Mister, of which the 90 minute play truly elaborates nearing its end. Their dynamic adds a breathe of life to the play because it is the clearest, most blatant symbols to Blitzstein’s affront on the wickedness of money. Mr. Mister cannot pay off a man with a vision, which makes you witness that most of the other characters were struggling to see life beyond their own needs. They may not have been as rich as Mr. Mister, but they were as selfish.
Part of why people may feel closed off from The Cradle Will Rock is that, to enter it, you have to have a certain mindframe. The first few scenes are campy like, a Three Stooges Go To Washington episode. Sally Ann Triplett as Mrs. Mister, Benjamin Eakeley as Reverend Salvation, Eddie Cooper’s Dr. Specialist, and Ken Barnett as Editor Daily are just a few of the Brechtian style characters that break the fourth wall to show you how to sell out. Though they feel bad that, in supporting Mr. Mister they are also supporting horribly fatal, labor policies, they have to survive. Thus, Yazbeck’s role as Harry Druggist and Laura Pulver’s Moll become standouts because they appear like floating victims; trying to regain stability and even justice from a system that ignited their tragedy. Hence, like so many, they get neither.
What makes The Cradle Will Rock’s revival important is that it shows people can lose everything to “big money corruption,” but they do not have to lose their self-respect and compassion. If every single character had stood up Mr. Mister, his money could not have afforded the horrors it caused; something the music by Blitzstein elaborates. Similar to Les Miserables, The Cradle Will Rock barely speak; causing the audience to rely on lyrics and keys to absorb the story’s emotional punches, which it has a few. It is never easy to know that history repeats itself, especially when its repetition could mean your loss. For More Information On The Cradle Will Rock Click Here. Located: 136 EAST 13TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10003
