Welcome to the Machine – SBCC’s Theater Group ventures into Expressionist drama with ‘Machinal’

David Bazemore Photo
David Bazemore Photo

In 1927, housewife Ruth Snyder conspired with her lover Henry Judd Gray to murder her husband and collect the insurance money. The following trial became a media sensation, as the public was baying for blood.

Among others, filmmaker D.W. Griffith and author Damon Runyon covered the trial. On the day of Snyder’s execution, a photographer snuck in and grabbed a disturbing, iconic image as she died in the electric chair at Sing Sing.

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Death Wish — Dark, soviet and comical, ‘The Suicide’ comes to SBCC

All Semyon Semyonovich wants is a late-night snack of liverwurst. Yes, he’s duly upset when he realizes his career as a concert tuba player can’t start because he can’t afford the piano to tune it. And yes, he’s been unemployed for a year. Somehow, though, his thoughts turn to suicide, and that’s where his real troubles begin.

Nikolai Erdman’s dark farce “The Suicide” has a history as troubled as its protagonist. Written in 1928, the Soviet author’s play ran afoul of authorities over its subject matter (and cracks against Marx), leading it to be banned for decades. Towing party line, Erdman never took on such weighty issues again, opting instead to write children’s comedies.

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