Haunted by The Cradle Will RockHistory and Adaptation in Jason Sherman’s It’s All True

Abstract

It’s All True(1999), Jason Sherman’s play about the 1937 premiere of Marc Blitzstein’s proletarian musical The Cradle Will Rock, brings together two central elements of Sherman’s work: historically-based political theatre and adaptation. In choosing to dramatize the events leading up to the opening night of The Cradle Will Rock, Sherman stages an iconic episode in the history of American political theatre that resonates with current concerns about state funding for the arts and uses it to construct a debate about the social function of theatre today. It’s All Trueexemplifies the complex nature of adaptations: it is not only “haunted” by its numerous sources; it is also productive, giving new life to them through appropriation, most notably to The Cradle Will Rock itself. Although, due to copyright restrictions, It’s All Trueuses neither Blitzstein’s music nor his lyrics, The Cradle Will Rockis a ubiquitous presence in Sherman’s play, providing an alternative structure focusing on proletarian heroes rather than celebrities, including gender in its political analysis, and eschewing a linear narrative in favour of an exposé of the circumstances leading up to the celebrated opening night of Blitzstein’s legendary music drama.