Who: Nine New York City theater companies
What: Multilingual production of John C. Moffitt and Sinclair Lewis’s play It Can’t Happen Here
Where: National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
When: Wednesday, October 28, suggested donations, 1:00
Why: In his 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis warned us that America was ripe for takeover by a demagogue, in this case Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip, who becomes president and sends the country swirling toward fascism. Of course, we didn’t listen to protagonist Doremus Jessup in 2016, and too many people are not listening again. On October 28 at 1:00, with the presidential election less than a week away, nine New York City theater companies are presenting a livestreamed reading of the 1936 theatrical adaptation by John C. Moffitt and Lewis, reminding us one more time what we are facing if the current administration is allowed to continue. The play will rotate between Yiddish, English, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, and Hebrew, staged virtually by the Israeli Artist Project, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò and KIT Kairos Italy Theater, Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment – TARTE, NY Classical, New Heritage Theatre Group, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Playful Substance, Repertorio, and event host and creator National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. We can keep saying that it can’t happen here all we want, but it is, and each one of us needs to do something to stop it, so donate, watch the plays, tell your friends, and, most important, vote. Below is the cast and crew for this important project; the shows will be available for viewing through November 1 at 1:00.
Israeli Artist Project (with Ronit Asheri, Iris Bahr, Gili Getz, and Yoni Vendriger, directed by Bahr and translated by Vendriger), Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò and KIT Kairos Italy Theater (with Mariluna Beacy, Laura Caparrotti, Emanuele Capoano, Alice Lussiana Parente, Mario Merone, Caterina Nonis, Giacomo Rocchini, Irene Turri, Giorgia Valenti, and Massimo Zordan, directed and translated by Caparrotti), National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (with Rachel Botchan, Spencer Chandler, Motl Didner, Kirk Geritano, Eileen F. Haggerty, Richard Kass, Zalmen Mlotek, Lauren Schaffel, Steven Skybell, Suzanne Toren, Tatiana Wechsler, and Hy Wolfe, directed and translated by Binyumin Resler and Benson Inge), NY Classical (with Tristan Biber, L. Peter Calendar, Kristen Calgaro, Stephen D’Ambrose, Nehassaiu deGannes, Will Dixon, Barbara Kingsley, Jillian Lindig, John Michalski, Evan Moore-Call, Kevin Orton, and David Shih, directed by Stephen Burdman), New Heritage Theatre Group (with Peter Coleman, Robin Galloway, Aaron Greenberg, Jesse Kramer, and Jake Robertson, directed by Carlton Taylor), Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (with Dinh James Doan, Eric Elizaga, David Huynh, Juni Li, Shigeko Sara Suga, and Viet Vo, directed by Chongren Fan), Playful Substance (with Nicole Amaral, Tori Barron, Jeorge Bennett Watson, Marie Donna Davis, Brandon Fox, Cristina Garcia Leon, Dan Kellmer, Kim Rios Lin, Dan Renkin, and Lauren Lindsey White, directed by Bree O’Connor), Repertorio (with Zulema Clares, Erick González, Gerardo Gudiño, German Jaramillo, Luis Carlos de la Lombana, and Gonzalo Trigueros, directed by Leyma López and translated by Rafael Sánchez), and Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment – TARTE (with Ayse Eldek Richardson, Ezgi Erdoğan Cohen, Defne Halman, Feryal Kilisli, and Emre Yilmaz, directed and translated by Richardson).