Upcoming Auditions

It Can't Happen Here - Berkeley Rep

Foothill Theatre Arts is a broadcast partner for The Berkeley Rep radio production of It Can’t Happen Here, adapted from Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 cautionary tale about a fascist takeover of the United States. YouTube links available beginning at 5:00 pm on October 13th, to all 4 episodes of It Can’t Happen Here plus the intro and live talkback are below.... (you will need to copy and paste the links). If you can't join us on the 13th, the links will be available until November 8th.

Introduction: https://youtu.be/bmzXndYdXQA
Episode 1: https://youtu.be/qzJI9T7Pcjk
Episode 2: https://youtu.be/SE0EsRy_xUk
Episode 3: https://youtu.be/NpEMurSK5QI
Episode 4: https://youtu.be/yCjqSPpzlbY
Live Talkback: https://youtu.be/JD_-ZHWW0eE

All episodes plus intro and live talkback in one YouTube playlist, for continuous playing from episode to episode: http://bit.ly/ICHHplaylist

The episodes are not captioned, but there will be instructions on each YouTube page on how people with hearing loss can obtain a copy of the script for their own personal use.

It Can't Happen Here Study Guide

Berkeley Rep Show Program

​Please consider a donation to Foothill Theatre Arts at https://foothill.edu/ theatre/donate.html or Berkeley Rep at https://tickets. berkeleyrep.org/donate/ contribute2

Foothill College Theatre Arts is proud to be a broadcast partner for the Berkeley Rep radio production of It Can’t Happen Here, adapted from Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 cautionary tale about a fascist takeover of the United States. We hope you will join us October 13th for the 5pm kickoff broadcast, followed by a live stream discussion featuring the creative team. The link will be available on this page the morning of October 13th. The production will be available through November 8th.

 

As you might recall, this play was also presented by Foothill Theatre in the Fall of 2017. It was originally adapted by Berkeley Rep Artistic Director Tony Taccone and Bennet Cohen during the run up to the 2016 election. Now, in the hours before the 2020 election, its message remains relevant and powerful.

The play follows a populist candidate, promising to return the country to greatness, who becomes president of the United States, and then all hell breaks loose. A prescient dark satire about the fragility of democracy in the land of liberty, It Can't Happen Here was written in 1935 by SInclair Lewis as a response to the international rise of fascism. It follows a liberal, middle-class newspaper editor who witnesses the ascent of the unlikely candidate to the Presidency.  He trusts the system will fix itself—until he ends up in a prison camp.

This virtual production will be a radio adaption of the play, and will feature much of the original Berkeley cast, along with Oscar-nominated actor David Straithairn (Good Night and Good Luck), a San Francisco native and one of the most compelling actors of our time, in the central role of the newspaper reporter.