Photo Flash: First Look at Foothill College of Theatre Arts' IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE

A populist candidate, promising to return the country to greatness, becomes president of the United States, and then all hell breaks loose in It Can't Happen Here, a new play based on Sinclair Lewis' eerily prescient 1935 novel, adapted for the stage by Tony Taccone and Bennett S. Cohen. Foothill Theatre Arts presents It Can't Happen Here, directed by Bruce McLeod, for three weeks only, now through November 19, 2017 at the Lohman Theatre, on the Foothill College Campus (at the bottom of the hill), 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

A cautionary dark satire about the fragility of democracy even in the land of liberty, It Can't Happen Here follows a liberal, middle-class newspaper editor from Vermont, Doremus Jessup, who watches in disbelief as an unlikely candidate becomes President. He trusts the system will fix itself-until it all comes crumbling down. This futuristic glimpse explores what might cause a citizenry to relinquish its own freedom, and how vocal opponents might coalesce and resist. The play premiered in September 2016 at Berkeley Rep, where it was called, "Thrilling and grim. An argument for journalism as a basic pillar of democracy," by The New Yorker. The San Francisco Chronicle found the play "Deeply relatable. Harrowing," while SFist.com called it "A thought-provoking and effective reminder that democracies are fragile things," and the Mercury News declared it, "A story of the indomitable spirit of those who can't simply stand by and watch this happen."

Written in 1935 during the rise of fascism in Europe, Sinclair Lewis adapted his novel into a play under the auspices of the Federal Theatre Project. On October 27, 1936, the play It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and John C. Moffitt opened simultaneously at 22 theaters across the country. It wound up playing a total of 260 weeks in theaters nationwide where it was seen by more than 316,000 people. Last year on the 80th anniversary of its opening, 50 organizations across 24 states staged free, public readings of the new adaptation by Tony Taccone and Bennett S. Cohen. Host organizations included 20 theaters, 12 universities, 12 libraries, a high school, a coffee house, and four in-home readings.

At the debut of Lewis' original adaptation, director of the Federal Theatre Project Hallie Flanagan said, "We want to do It Can't Happen Here because it is a play by one of our most distinguished American writers. We want to do it because it is about American life today, based on a passionate belief in American democracy. The play says that when dictatorship comes to threaten such a democracy, it comes in an apparently harmless guise, with parades and promises; but that when such dictatorship arrives, the promises are not kept and the parade grounds become encampments." Some months later Flanagan told an audience "No one agreed on the play, but everyone had to see it. It was called good, bad, savage, mild, American, un-American, Fascist, communist, too far left, too far right, a work of genius, a work of the devil."

For this production, director Bruce McLeod has assembled a stellar cast. Starring as the newspaper editor Doremus Jessup is Vic Prosak, who has been seen in many acclaimed productions locally including Anne Frank's Diary (Otto Frank), The Farnsworth Invention (Wachtel), Looking for Normal (Frank), and others at Palo Alto Players, as well as productions at The Pear Avenue Theatre, Bus Barn Theatre, and Dragon Theatre. He was seen at Foothill in South Pacific (Captain Brackett) and All Shook Up (Sheriff Earl). The role of presidential candidate Buzz Windrip will be played by Thomas Times, who has appeared in Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Picasso) at Santa Clara Players, Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio) and Cinderella (Stepsister) at the African American Shakespeare Company, and other lead roles with Post Theatre Company, Prospect Players, and others. He was last seen at Foothill in Suburban Undertow (Martin). Featured as Jessup's wife Emma is Gwendolyne Wagner, seen with South Bay Musical Theatre in 1776 (Andrew McNair), with Tabard Theatre in Death Takes a Holiday (Princess Stephanie) and Edith Stein (Prioress), and La Jolla Stage Company in Dracula, The Musical? (Bubu Badoop) and The Diviners (Goldie), as well as with Lyric Theatre San Jose, Palo Alto Players, North Coast Repertory theatre, and others. Appearing as Jessup's fellow activist Lorinda is Carla Befera, an award-winning actress who has appeared in many roles in the past with TheatreWorks, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, 42nd Street Moon, among many others, and was last seen at Foothill in Angels in America (Hannah/Rabbi/Doctor/Ethel Rosenberg) and Our Town (Stage Manager). The large cast also includes: Henri Boulanger, Daniel Cardenas, John Castillo, Seton Chiang, Kyle Dayrit, Jorge Diaz, Abbey Eklund, Autumn Gonzalez, Jacob Gunter, Richard Horner, Bianca Marconcini, Emma Sazio, Amara Snow-Miller, Alexis Standridge, Austin Valliani, and Daniel Warburton.

Director Bruce McLeod joined the Foothill College Theatre Arts department in 2007, in time for the opening of the Lohman Theatre. He is responsible for the Theatre Technology Program and serves as the department's Production Manager and Technical Director, teaching courses in technical stage work, theatre appreciation, and others. He has worked professionally at several theatres including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and was the first technical director and production manager for TheatreWorks, where he oversaw indoor and outdoor main stage shows, as well as site-specific productions set in various venues around Palo Alto. He has enjoyed a long career as a Set and Lighting designer, including work with Center Rep, West Bay Opera, Magic Theatre, Eureka Theatre, and TheatreWorks. Many of his set designs have received recognition, including a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Sunday in the Park with George and a Theatre Bay Area nomination for the recent Marry Me A Little, both at TheatreWorks. At Foothill he has directed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, as well as a critically- acclaimed revival of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, and last year's lauded production of Our Town.

This production of It Can't Happen Here will feature costume design by Chiara Cola, set design by Lynn Grant, lighting design by Dan Wadleigh, property design by Pam Sample, and sound design by Max Stanylov.

Tickets and information available at www.foothill.edu/theatre or by calling (650) 949-7360.

Photo Credit: David Allen

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