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Event
Upton Sinclair's Singing Jailbirds
Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 2:30 PM
Upton Sinclair wrote Singing Jailbirds 85 years before this new production, in 1924 which tackled controversial issues of class, unionism, and the worker's movement. The incident that inspired Sinclair to write his play actually occurred at Liberty Hill in San Pedro, California in 1923. Strikers were imprisoned without criminal charges in violation of Habeas Corpus and were compelled to stop
singing their "wobbly" songs. Red Adams, the protagonist is locked in solitary confinement and finds his only escape through dreams of scenes of his life. A pre-Broadway musical of sorts, this dramatic play includes the songs of IWW labor folk hero, Joe Hill, and is given new life through new arrangements by The Relevant Stage creating a
new dramatic musical about labor and class and the birth of the A.C.L.U.
"the way he used his craft to highlight issues I find fascinating, and I think other people would whether it's, you know, the Walt Disney movie to promote ecology, The Gnomobile, or the play Singing Jailbirds to draw attention to political prisoners. I just think he epitomizes a lot of the ways that people today are trying to fuse art and activism. So he's very relevant."
Lauren Coodley, Upton Sinclair's Biographer
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LocationWarner Grand Theatre
478 West 6th Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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