It Will Happen Here (Tonight)

Tonight some 23 readings of the play It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis will be held across the United States.  These readings celebrate the 75th anniversary of the play's premiere--with 23 productions in 18 cities--a singular event in American history and American theatre.  These 1936 productions were by the Federal Theatre Project, part of the New Deal efforts to break the cycle of the Great Depression.

One of these readings will be held here on the North Coast, at Dell'Arte in Blue Lake.  I will be one of the readers, and I am introducing the event with a few choice words about Federal Theatre, and the play, which is about how a fascist dictatorship takes over the U.S.

Like a lot of Federal Theatre productions, this one is free.  Though I'm told ours at Dell'Arte is pretty much "sold out" with advance reservations.  For information on these productions, on the play and especially the Federal Theatre Project, please check my postings at Stage Matters.  (These posts are always accessible by clicking on the "Federal Theatre Project" or "Great Depression" labels.)

So I've got to go study my script now, and practice my Vermont farmer accent--sorry, that's fahmah, isn't it?