The Cradle Will Rock

The Cradle Will Rock
Poster from the Federal Theatre Project, Work Projects Administration production 1937
Music	Marc Blitzstein
Lyrics	Marc Blitzstein
Book	Marc Blitzstein
Productions	1938 Broadway 1947 Broadway revival 1964 Off-Broadway revival 1983 Off-Broadway revival 1985 West End

The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 musical by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman. The musical is a Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed and includes a panoply of societal figures. Set in "Steeltown, USA", it follows the efforts of Larry Foreman to unionize the town's workers and combat wicked, greedy businessman Mr. Mister, who controls the town's factory, press, church and social organization. The piece is almost entirely sung-through, giving it many operatic qualities, although Blitzstein included popular song styles of the time.

The WPA temporarily shut down the project a few days before it was to open on Broadway; so to avoid government and union restrictions, the show was performed with Blitzstein playing piano onstage and the cast members singing their parts from the audience.

The original cast consisted of John Adair, Guido Alexander, Marc Blitzstein, Peggy Coudray, Howard Da Silva, George Fairchild, Robert Fransworth, Edward Fuller, Will Geer, Maynard Holmes, Frank Marvel, Charles Niemeyer, Le Roi Operti, Jules Schmidt, George Smithfield, Olive Stanton, and Bert Weston.

The Cradle Will Rock was reprised January–April 1938 as part of the first season of the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory company founded by Welles and Houseman. An abridged version of the production was recorded and released in 1938, the first original cast recording ever made.

Setting: Steeltown, U.S.A.

Act I

Moll, a young prostitute, is thrown in jail when she refuses to accept money from a corrupt policeman. She is soon joined by the leaders of the Liberty Committee, an anti-union group mistakenly charged with pro-union activities. While the committee members call out for their patron, industrialist Mr. Mister, to free them, a vagrant named Harry Druggist befriends Moll and explains that he lost his business because of Mr. Mister.