Jackson Nickolay of Hovland performed in a run of The Cradle Will Rock, a Broadway musical on stage at Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa, in February.
The 1930s comedy by Marc Blitzstein, includes historical themes that strike a modern chord: corporate greed, a financial crisis and union busting.
The Cradle Will Rock was the only Broadway musical to be directed by Orson Welles, whose 1937 production had a delayed opening after being shut down due to federal budget cuts and political pressure.
“This musical is agit-prop—or agitation propaganda—theater,” says Director Robert Hubbard, a Northwestern theater professor. “Although there are two sides to the issues it raises, The Cradle Will Rock unabashedly—and comically—takes the workingman’s side. Workers at the time were fighting for a fiveday work week and minimum wage standards and protesting child labor.”
Many of the characters have allegorical names and stand for virtues and vices.
Nickolay performed the roles of Dick and Harry Druggist in the production, which features dialogue that is nearly all sung.
Nickolay is a sophomore and is majoring in theater at Northwestern College. He is the son of Michele Miller of Hovland.
Northwestern College’s award-winning theatre program offers majors in theater, speech and Christian theater ministries. A Christian liberal arts college of 1,200 students, Northwestern is rated a top-10 Midwestern college by U.S. News & World Report magazine.
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