Stage Left Theatre presents An Enemy of the People

Stage Left Theatre announces its upcoming production of An Enemy of the People, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Arthur Miller. This production, the company's first revival since the 2002 production of The Good Woman of Setzuan, marks the beginning of an effort to deepen the level of debate at the heart of its mission, by offering historical context for modern political and social questions.
An Enemy of the People is the second production of Stage Left's 29th season. It opens Tuesday, March 1st at 7:30 PM, and runs through April 3rd.
Should the majority rule? Where does the individual stand if the majority is wrong? Arthur Miller asks these timeless questions in his powerful adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic play. When Dr. Stockmann makes a poisonous discovery about the town's water, he finds himself in a battle for public opinion with his brother, the Mayor. This war of pragmatism versus idealism threatens to tear their family-and their community-apart.
In 1882, Henrik Ibsen wrote An Enemy of the People as a response to the public outcry over his play Ghosts. Arthur Miller wrote his adaptation in 1950 in response to the political climate surrounding McCarthyism. But the themes of this work are as relevant today as they were at the end of the nineteenth century or in the middle of the 20th. The questions of political corruption, journalistic responsibility, and the environmental cost of economic progress are not new to our time. According to director Jason Fleece, "Like the US today, the town in this play faces a complicated issue - with an environmental crisis on one hand, and an economic one on the other - but the 'winners' and 'losers' of the argument are determined less by their merits and their ability to solve the problem, than by how they mold public opinion through the news media." This human drama will resonate in the contemporary debate over climate change, our country's bitterly divided political landscape and the ways in which the media's 24 hour news cycle exacerbates this divide.
Stage Left will continue its Sunday Symposium series with community speakers to engage the audience on a variety of social and political questions raised by the performance. The series immediately follows Sunday performances with community representatives to be announced in February. An Enemy of the People will spark discussion about topics such as the use and manipulation of the media by public figures, the politics of climate change, and journalistic responsibility.
An Enemy of the People runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 2:30 PM from 3/3/11 through 4/3/10. Tickets start at $22, and will be available through the Theater Wit box office. Opening Night is Tuesday, March 1st at 7:30 PM and tickets are $28. Previews are February 25, 26 and 28 at 7:30 PM. Preview tickets are $10. An Enemy of the People will be performed at Theatre Wit at 1229 W. Belmont in Chicago. The theatre is handicapped and CTA accessible via the Belmont El (Red & Brown).
Founded in 1982, Stage Left Theatre is committed to developing and producing plays that raise debate and challenge perspectives on political and social issues. Through a full subscription season and Downstage Left, one of Chicago's most prolific new play development programs, Stage Left strives to ask provocative social and political questions by producing a mix of new works, regional premieres and timeless classics.