The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the Edge Center in Bigfork

The EdgeWild Players in Bigfork open the stage season with a comedy that includes gangsters joking, dancing, and singing. Fake wooden Tommy guns, scared white faces, and the witty, savage satire heighten the entertainment of this period comedy by German playwright Bertolt Brecht titled “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.” It is a satirical look at the rise of a mythical, small-time thug in 1930s Chicago who is trying to take over the cauliflower racket by selling "protection" to small groceries. Sound interesting? That’s the magic of a great satirist like Brecht. His characters are so ridiculous that they can transport laughing audiences to a funny new reality. Place: The Edge Center Theatre, Bigfork. Date and time: June 21 through 23 at 7 p.m. and June 24 at 2 p.m. Price: $15 for adults, $5 for children.

The play was written in 1941 by the great modern playwright Bertolt Brecht. Director Patricia Feld is infusing it with the lively music that Brecht and Kurt Weill wrote for many of their classic plays. Among the songs is the familiar “Mack the Knife.”

                                                  

This play is also an allegory Hitler’s rise to power and the characters and events have direct parallels in history to Adolf Hitler’s henchmen. Brecht turns der Führer into vulgar American thug Arturo Ui, a small-time New York hoodlum who comes to Chicago with his gang to “sell protection” using intimidation, threats, arson, and murder. But, unlike the gangster movies of the 1920s and 1930s, this show is done for maximum laughs. The broad, vaudeville acting style, the between-the-scenes musical numbers, and the elaborate sets, costumes, and stage antics keeps things lively and funny.

                            

Patricia Feld, the Artistic Director for the Edge and director of this play says, “Our large cast has a ball with the mugging and the overly physical acting style.  The complex sets and 1930’s costumes will help to create an impressive and entertaining performance.”

The Edgewild Players have received a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council to rent lovely, historically accurate costumes, and the students of Bigfork School are creating props and helping to build the sets.

                                          

This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature's general and arts and cultural heritage funds.

The Fun starts Thursday June 21 and runs through Sunday June 24. The times and prices are June 21 through 23 at 7 p.m. and June 24 at 2 p.m. Price: $15 for adults, $5 for children. Some come and see something you really might not expect...but then that's what the Edge is all about; seeing the unexpected. It will be a great escape and you'll get lots of laughs, music and entertaining.