We're not in 1937 anymore

"The Cradle Will Rock" became infamous in 1937 when its performers were barred from the stage because of the play's Marxist content. But the play, directed by Orson Welles, sold out, and its writer, Marc Blitzstein, was determined that the show would go on. So on opening night, he began playing the entirety of the show by himself at the piano. Inspired by his performance, the rest of the actors, having been banned from the stage, sang their parts from the audience.

In keeping with this tradition, the recent adaptation of writer and composer Marc Blitzstein's musical comedy, under David Fuller's direction, is narrated by a man sitting at a piano. Additionally, many of the actors sit among the audience when it isn't their turn to sing. This serves as both a respectable homage to the original production and a mechanism to get the audience invested in the story, as the performers literally come from the seats.

The story starts off following Ella Hammer (Sarah Rebekah), a young woman who has turned to prostitution as her last means of survival in fictional Steeltown, USA. She is arrested for refusing to have sex with a police officer and is immediately escorted to a public court. Also in the court's attendance are high-brow members of society (a professor, artists, a doctor and a preacher), all of whom were arrested at a rally against the ruler of the town, Mr. Mister (Bill Newhall). Ironically, all eight of the people arrested are part of the personal committee that allows Mr. Mister to rule all aspects of the town.

All of the members of the committee are quick to denounce Ella for her prostitution, but the rest of the show involves each of them telling a personal story about how he's prostituted himself to Mr. Mister as well.

These are well-crafted tales, but there's something irksome about the overall mechanism.
When each person tells his or her story, you can't help but pay attention to the other people sitting down, which takes you out of the story being told and makes you fully aware of how many more you have to sit through.

While the program tells you that this piece is very relevant to today's economic turmoil, the message of the play itself seems dated, cynical and abrasive. This is a world where money talks: Everyone from preachers to artists to doctors does what they are bribed to do. That's the way the world works, the show asserts. And perhaps it's true, but it's also reductive and heavy-handed. It feels more like a release of post-bailout anxiety than any kind of political awakening.

"The Cradle Will Rock" is playing at Theater Ten Ten (1010 Park Ave.) through March 14. Tickets ($25) are available at theatermania.com or by calling 212.352.3101.