The Cradle Will Rock at IN Series

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2. The Cradle Will Rock

 IN Series’ 2024-25 season, “Illicit Opera” features four innovative productions that continue to push the boundaries of music, theater, and drama. The season is dedicated to works of opera and theater that have been banned and considered too dangerous to be performed and one of the most legendary such works is the season opener, Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock. 

The Cradle Will Rock became a thundering work of American history when governments and unions alike tried to ban its legendary first performance. Artists defied those orders to bring this searing work that celebrates the labor movement to life from the seats of a packed theater while the work’s composer and librettist Marc Blitzstein sat alone at the piano onstage. Originally directed by Orson Welles and dedicated to Kurt Weill, this imaginative new version honors the story of this rarely heard classic’s origin with new energy, humor, melody, and a thirst for justice. The production features a cast of the area’s best young vocalists, led by the newly named Artistic Director of DC’s own Theatre Alliance, Shanara Gabrielle, and IN Series Head of Music Emily Batlzer (“The Promised End”). 

Authors

• Marc Blitzstein