Rock the Cradle

Marc Blitzstein was an early 20th-century American composer and lyricist, who (not coincidentally) produced one of the earliest translations of The Threepenny Opera into English.  In 1937, he wrote an abstract, pro-union musical called The Cradle Will Rock, which featured a Socialist revolt against the rich, capitalist bourgeoisie (sound familiar again?). Funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman.

Just days before its Broadway premiere, the federal government shut down the production due to its "communist, un-American message". Undeterred, Blitzstein took to the stage on opening night with just his piano, and was determined to play and perform the entire score by himself.  The cast members, most of whom were in attendance, stood from their seats one-by-one on cue, and delivered their lines dramatically from the house.  A terrific story about resisting government oppression, in the form of a musical about resisting government oppression, this story is brilliantly told in John Houseman's autobiography, Runthrough, and also in movie form (The Cradle Will Rock, 1999), if you wish to dig deeper.

My purpose here is to highlight yet another strong influence on the writers of Urinetown. Besides matching the original thematic material, one of the scenes in Urinetown appears to be directly modelled on one from The Cradle Will Rock.  See if you can tell which one I'm talking about.  As a side note, pay particular attention to the names of the characters:

The Cradle Will Rock - Scene 10 - Click Here