It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951), the first American writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, chose the Federal Theatre Project to stage It Can’t Happen Here—in spite of commercial offers from Broadway—because of the widespread national audience that would view his play. On October 27, 1936, twenty-two separate productions of the play opened simultaneously in eighteen cities. A Negro Unit performed the play in Seattle, there was a Yiddish version in New York City, and a production in Spanish in Tampa, Florida. After the initial opening, nine units toured the play, and nearly 500 thousand people saw It Can’t Happen Here during its run.
Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951), the first American writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, chose the Federal Theatre Project to stage <em>It Can’t Happen Here</em>—in spite of commercial offers from Broadway—because of the widespread national audience that would view his play. On October 27, 1936, twenty-two separate productions of the play opened simultaneously in eighteen cities. A Negro Unit performed the play in Seattle, there was a Yiddish version in New York City, and a production in Spanish in Tampa, Florida. After the initial opening, nine units toured the play, and nearly 500 thousand people saw <em>It Can’t Happen Here</em> during its run.