WHAT: Staged Reading of "It Can’t Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis and John C. Moffitt 

WHO: Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble and Theatre [502], over 30 local actors, sponsored by Metro Parks 

WHERE: Parkside Studio: Inside at Iroquois - at the WPA’s Iroquois Amphitheatre, 1080 Amphitheater Rd. 

WHEN: October 24, 2011 at 8pm

COST: $1 Suggested Donation 

"It Can't Happen Here" follows the rise of a populist politician named Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, who takes unconstitutional power after winning election and newspaperman Doremus Jessup’s belated realization that America’s democracy is being replaced by a fascist regime.

The play originally opened on October 27, 1936 as part of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP). The FTP was part of the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) initiative to fund theatre and other live artistic performances in the United States during the Great Depression.

As one of eighteen productions across the country, Louisville’s contribution is presented as the first collaboration between Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble and Theatre [502], features more than 30 Louisville actors from a wide-range of backgrounds and theatre affiliations, and will be directed by Le Petomane’s Greg Maupin.

In addition, the show will mark the first production in the “Parkside Studio: Inside at Iroquois,” a new use of Iroquois Amphitheatre. Iroquois Amphitheatre opened on July, 4, 1938 as part of the WPA.