Brecht's THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI Plays CCBC's Essex Academic Theatre thru 10/30

"Arturo Ui" is Adolf Hitler and, to Bertolt Brecht, that is really the point. His satirical drama, "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" is a thinly veiled chronicle of the rise of Hitler and his inner-circle cohorts (Rohm, Goring and Goebbels) to power in Nazi Germany. Brecht left Germany in 1938 and this play, which was written in three weeks in 1941, was intended for the American rather than the German stage. The plot centers on "Ui," a Chicago mobster of the 1930s, and his henchmen who are set to take over the green grocery (Cauliflower Trust) trade in the Windy City. "Dogsborough" is the highly moral/ethical politician they corrupt in order to get in with the Cauliflower Trust. Brecht was anxious that people not miss the parallels in this play to events in Germany and even went so far as to have signs carried across the stage to make sure the audience would not miss a scene's references to real world events.

Academic Theatre students at the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex will perform this play at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, tonight, Oct. 25-27, 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29 and 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30 in the B Building Theatre at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Blvd. in Rosedale. Tickets, which are $8 general admission, $5 for seniors, students, CCBC faculty, staff and alumni, are available from the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787).

William Meister of Parkville, Md. as "Arturo Ui"/Hitler and Timothy Davis of Towson, Md. as "Dogsborough"/Paul von Hindenburg have the lead roles. Major featured players are Ui/Hitler's Henchmen: Cara Darnell of Parkville, Md. as "Givola"/Joseph Goebbles; Aanisah Saunderlin of Baltimore, Md. as "Ernesto Roma"/Ernest Rohm and Nicki Seibert of Timonium, Md. as "Giri"/Hermann Goring.

Other featured actors include: Marcella Dipasquale of Towson, Md. as Betty Dullfleet, Dockdaisy and Barker; Garrett Greenhawk of Parkville, Md. as Mulberry (Henchman, Doctor); Sarra Lewis of Overlea, Md. as Fleet, Prosecutor, Trader; Gino Gussio of Baldwin, Md. as Fish, Dogsborough, Jr., Trader; Timothy Johnson of Towson, Md. as Henchman; Ashley Saville of Timonium, Md. as Clark, Judge; Emily Wesselhoff of Rosedale, Md. as Inna, the Woman, Butcher and Juan Hunter of Parkville, Md. as Henchman and Little Girl.

Andrew Peters, Artistic Director of Glass Mind Theatre Company in Baltimore, directs this play. Terri Raulie is technical director and James J. Fasching, costume designer. Anne Lefter is director of Performing Arts at CCBC.

CCBC offers hundreds of programs and thousands of courses helping people of all ages, backgrounds and interests earn degrees, transfer, launch or advance careers, and prepare for in-demand jobs.

Providing accessible, affordable and high-quality education since 1957, CCBC educates more than 70,000 students each year, including half of all Baltimore County residents attending college in Maryland as undergraduates. Committed to student success and the development of lifelong learners who strengthen our regional workforce and enrich our community, CCBC has also been selected to participate in Achieving the Dream, a national student success initiative. In 2011, the Chronicle of Education honored CCBC as one of only 26 community colleges across the nation named "Great Colleges to Work For."

CCBC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, 2nd Floor West, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Pictured (top) Timothy Davis of Towson, Md. (on left) as "Dogsborough"/Paul von Hindenburg and William Meister of Parkville, Md. as "Arturo Ui"/Hitler - the lead roles. Pictured (side) Juan Hunter as one of Ui's Henchman and Emily Wesselhoff as the Woman. Photo credit: Britt Olsen-Ecker Photography.

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