Past Productions
17³Ô¹Ï Theatre Presents
It Can't Happen Here
Based on Sinclair Lewis' eerily prescient 1935 novel
Adapted by Tony Taccone and Bennett S. Cohen
Directed by Bruce McLeod
Performance Dates
November 2–19, 2017
About the Production
A populist candidate, promising to return the country to greatness, becomes president of the United States, and then all hell breaks loose.
A cautionary dark satire about the fragility of democracy in the land of liberty, It Can't Happen Here follows a liberal, middle-class newspaper editor from Vermont who witnesses the rise of an unlikely candidate to the Presidency, but trusts the system will fix itself—until he ends up in a prison camp.
Sinclair Lewis’ novel examines what brings a citizenry to the point of sacrificing its own freedom and how a courageous few can coalesce and resist.
Director Bruce McLeod joined the 17³Ô¹Ï Theatre Arts department in 2007, in time for the opening of the Lohman Theatre. He is responsible for the Theatre Technology Program and serves as the department's Production Manager and Technical Director, teaching courses in technical stage work, theatre appreciation, and others. He has worked professionally at several theatres. At 17³Ô¹Ï he has directed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, as well as a critically- acclaimed revival of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, and last year’s lauded production of Our Town.
This production of It Can’t Happen Here featured costume designs by Chiara Cola, with set designs by Lynn Grant, lighting design by Dan Wadleigh, property design by Pam Sample, and sound design by Max Stanylov.
The Cast
Doremus Jessup: Vic Prosak
Buzz Windrip: Thomas Times
Emma Jesseup: Gwendolyne Wagner
Lorinda: Carla Befera
Supporting characters: Henri Boulanger, Daniel Cardenas, John Castillo, Seton Chiang, Kyle Dayrit, Jorge Diaz, Abbey Eklund, Autumn Gonzalez, Jacob Gunter, Richard Horner, Bianca Marconcini, Emma Sazio, Alexis Standridge, Austin Valliani, and Daniel Warburton
