University of Akron Theatre Program Presents Brecht Play About the Rise of a Dictator

Bertolt Brecht

Thu 10/31-Nov 2 @ 7:30PM

Sun 11/13 @ 2PM

Thu 11/7-Sat 11/8 @ 7:30PM

Sun 11/10 @ 2PM

The University of Akron Theatre Program’s 2019-2020 season is devoted to plays on the theme of “Re(Viewing) Tyranny.” It kicks off with Bertolt Brecht’s 1941 satire about corruption and political tyranny, using a fictional Chicago mobster trying to corner the cauliflower market as a stand-in for Hitler and the Nazi Party, with characters representing such prominent Nazis as Goebbels and Goring. The play confronts ideas about how dictators rise to power and how people allow themselves to be duped, swayed and controlled by those who mean them no good.

UA Professor of Theatre James Slowiak directs the cast of 15 students.

“Each night in rehearsal, the cast and I are searching for the right stylistic response to Brecht’s brilliant script to make it accessible, entertaining and informative as we watch current events unfold, wince from attacks on America’s democratic systems, and anxiously anticipate the 2020 elections,” says Slowiak.

To enhance the work and make it more powerful, UA Director of Jazz Studies Jack Schantz has contributed an original score, evoking Chicago in the 30s, which will be performed live by an ensemble of students.

All performances take place in Sandefur Theatre in Guzzetta Hall. Tickets are $10, $5 for students.

the-resistible-rise-of-arturo-ui-ua-theatre

University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325

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