It’s All True is a behind the scenes play about the controversial 1937 musical, The Cradle Will Rock. In 1999, there was a film adaptation of the history behind the musical, directed by Tim Robbins, also entitled The Cradle Will Rock. It featured a high-powered ensemble cast with such actors as Susan Sarandon, Hank Azaria, John Turturro and John Cusack, among many others. Both the musical itself and theatrical representations of its creation are worth the effort-because The Cradle Will Rock is a true story of ideals and heroism.
Both the Hothouse Theatre’s production of It’s All True and the Tim Robbins film tell, from different perspectives, the complicated story of one controversial musical. During the Depression of the 1930s, the arts were funded by the Federal Theatre Project, which gave jobs to thousands of unemployed actors. Marc Blitzstein, an artist and intellectual, was deeply affected by the violence and hypocrisy of unions and governments alike, so he wrote the musical The Cradle Will Rock as an allegorical representation of sell-outs, idealists, and the triumph of common man.
Orson Welles directed Blitzstein’s play, and unfortunately, anti-communists in the national government feared the play and physically padlocked the theatre on its opening night. Welles, Blitzstein and producer John Houseman scrambled to save their production, and finally succeeded by using an old theatre, and sans costumes, orchestra and lighting, had the actors perform their illegal lines from the audience.
It’s a complicated set-up and a fascinating story, and this year the HotHouse Theatre Company, on location at the ArtLoft Blackbox Theatre, is running both the original Blitzstein musical The Cradle Will Rock and the behind-the-scenes play by Jason Sherman, It’s All True.
For those who have seen the film behind-the-scenes story, The Cradle Will Rock in 1999, it is a very different story than that portrayed in the play It’s All True. The film focuses on a myriad of interlocking stories from the entire time period, which culminate in the heroic performance of the actors from the audience. It’s All True focuses only on the cast and crew of The Cradle Will Rock and their frantic efforts to practice and put on their show.
It’s All True is as much a battle of wills as it is a story. Obnoxious yet endearing director Orson Welles (Jason Cannon), cautious and well-mannered producer John Houseman (Doug Shelton), middle class repressed writer Marc Blitzstein (Todd Schaefer) and passionate headstrong leading man Howard Da Silva (Blaise Azzara) all compete fiercely for control of the show, and emotional sparks flare from both the thousand smaller crises they face to the culminating battle to actually perform the show.
It’s a show that demands tight dialogue and crackling emotions, and it delivers. It’s All True is at heart an ensemble piece-often featuring acting “duets” with two characters. The producer argues with the director, the director fights with his wife, the wife accuses the writer, and so forth. The show is highly emotional, as the characters support, betray, and council each other.
The best moments of the show come from these passionate exchanges, as a variety of interconnecting relationships are explored. A particular matter of contention with every character in the show is the leading lady, Olive, terrifically played by Sharen Camille, as a sweet but terribly vapid actress. As Welles (exceptionally portrayed by Cannon) tries to browbeat her into some semblance of characterization, Da Silva woos her and Blitzstein abhors her lack of political passion. Her situation, as one of many, opens the stage for complex character developments and superb acting from the entire cast. Just as one character exasperates the audience with betrayal, he or she will then reveal a second side that alters one’s entire perception of the problem.
It’s All True is a strong, well-acted and well-staged drama, but it is not without its flaws. The first act runs long at 90 minutes, and though never boring, pulls the audience quite definitively into the character’s red-eye situation. Also, one side plot of the story is the haunting of the writer Blitzstein’s by his wife, who is a bitter harpy with many post-mortem issues. Her presence, though effective in flashback, is a little overused in the present. The HotHouse Theatre’s joint production of both It’s All True and The Cradle Will Rock is an ambitious and brilliant combination that deserves a double viewing.

The actual musical itself, “The Cradle Will Rock,” begins next weekend.

Popularity: 1% [?]

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2001 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cadenza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.