Based on the darkly satirical 1935 novel by Sinclair Lewis, Tony Taccone and Bennett's S. Cohen's play It Can’t Happen Here follows the ascent of a demagogue who becomes president of the United States by promising to return the country to greatness. Witnessing the new president’s authoritarian tyranny from the sidelines is a liberal, middle-class newspaper editor from Vermont who is caught in the chaos of social upheaval.
Dozens of regional theatres, universities, and communities across the country will join together in this nation-wide simultaneous reading event, organized by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, that marks the 80th anniversary of an event in which communities around the United States used Lewis's play as a way to protest the political issue of the day.
No tickets required.