Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, the (Tabori, Trans.)

Bertolt Brecht
Translated by George Tabori Drama

Characters: 30 male, 5 female

Brecht's shudderingly accurate parallel between Hitler and his henchmen on the one hand and the old crime lords of Chicago on the other is a vigorous eye opener that was produced on Broadway with Christopher Plummer. The Cauliflower Trust in Chicago is in need of help and turns to a racketeer by the name of Arturo Ui to begin a "protection" campaign. His henchmen look astonishingly like Goebbels and Goring. Their activities include "accidental" fires and a St. Valentine's Day massacre. "A wild and grotesque sort of clown show, with everything seen through a distorting mirror...An ideal vehicle for a director who knows how to shoot the work in his staging." -The New York Post