Much delayed musings on theater

Ah, it's that time of year again. The time of year when each student is frantically scrambling to get all the papers in order before Thanksgiving and Christmas. The time of year when those few students that call themselves academically capable relax and continue to keep a sane pace. The time of year when the rest of us rush frantically to complete assignments before the deadlines.

For me that means finally getting around to writing a blog post about theater, and the recent display of theatrical prowess by the Whitworth Theater department. Be it dancing herds of upper middle class, singing law professors, or a chanting union protest, The Cradle Will Rock did, in fact, rock.

The play began with a fairly dark note, letting the audience know exactly where they players stood. Steeltown, America. Union problems, poverty, and a ruling elite class. Some very well orchestrated song and dance filled vignettes later, we find ourselves looking at the whole of the problem: the ultrarich elite (in this case, Mr. Mister) are buying up all of the local uppermiddle class in order to stave off the dreaded Unions.

All in good time, we're reminded of the joys of human perseverance, as the good guys win out and the Unions march. The marching of the unions was quite the fun scene, with singing protesters taking the audience surprise behind, climaxing in yet another shock of "audience members" standing up to join in the song.

The musical brings up several very potent points about Unions: They have the ability to protect, but also to slow progress of innovation and production. They bear a powerful double edged blade: They can save or destroy a market all based on whether or not they self regulate. A union that protects sub-par workers does nothing but wrong to the industry, where a union that regulates and keeps performance tabs on a worker can do only good for the industry.

All in all I quite enjoyed the musical. It was definitely a pleasant experience, and I look forward to the next production by the Whitworth Theater Department.