Rehearsing for the Federal Theatre Project production of The Cradle Will Rock
In many ways New York City was both a paradigm of the suffering of the Great Depression and an engine of recovery. As F. Scott Fitzgerald put it, the exuberant binging of the Roaring ’20s ended with an enormous hangover.
But as the mayoralty moved from playboy Jimmy Walker to "The Little Flower," Fiorello LaGuardia, and the presidency from Herbert Hoover to FDR, the process of recuperation began, as the city reaped the benefits of New York-focused policies of the New Deal. Government sponsorship brought employment on public projects ranging from Long Island parkways to the Triborough Bridge and private investment saw the creation of the vast Rockefeller Center project.
Meanwhile, the spectrum of popular culture ranged from films like Busby Berkeley’s backstage musical extravaganzas to hard-hitting social commentary in plays supported by the Federal Theatre Project such as The Cradle Will Rock, while the songs people heard on the radio ranged from "We're in the Money" to "Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?"
Cultural historian George Scheper explores the moods of the times as reflected in the cultural crosscurrents of literature, music, stage, and screen, with escapist entertainment counterbalanced by strong currents of social realism and social engagement.
General Information
