Historic Staging of a McCarthy Classic Film Coming to Yuba City
May 21, 2024 09:50AM ● By Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture News Release
MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) – A new play, Salt of the Earth, will be performed at the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts, 754 Plumas Street in Yuba City, June 6 through 8, 2024. This play is an original adaptation of the blacklisted 1954 film, Salt of the Earth, and will be a historic production, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the film. As with the original film, the play’s cast is composed of a mix of working folks with little or no performance experience, as well as seasoned actors and actresses.
The production is funded by the California Arts Council, though the Upstate California Creative Corps, and is a partnership of Convergence Theatre Company (CTC), Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture, the Western Farm Workers Association, and the Yuba College Sociology Department. In line with the goals of the grant, the play addresses themes of social justice, public health, and civic engagement.
Salt of the Earth tells the true story of Mexican American zinc miners in New Mexico who went on strike for better sanitation and safer working conditions and had to overcome ethnic and gender divisions to succeed. It highlights the women in the community, especially Esperanza, the lead female character, whose name means “hope.” The film was banned by the U.S. Government and its makers were jailed and blacklisted by the Hollywood studios during the McCarthy Era, but it has since been restored and is considered a classic of American cinema. Today’s audiences may well find the story relevant to contemporary debates around workers’ rights, intersectionality, and immigration, and may also reflect on how the blacklisting of the film compares with current concerns about censorship, “cancel culture,” systemic racism, and antisemitism.
The play is directed by CTC’s Lydia Crist, who has a successful track record of directing and producing plays in the Yuba-Sutter area. CTC’s Matthew DeMerritt is Artistic Director for the production. Dr. Marc Flacks, Professor of Sociology at Yuba College, conceived the idea to adapt the play, wrote the adaptation being used for the production, and was awarded the grant from Upstate California Creative Corps to support the adaptation and production of the play. The play will be performed on June 6 and 7 at 7pm and on June 8 at 2pm at the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts, 754 Plumas Street, in Yuba City. Admission to the play is free, but please pre-register at yubasutterarts.org. For more information, please contact Marc Flacks at [email protected] or (562)-899-0464
The production is funded by the California Arts Council, though the Upstate California Creative Corps, and is a partnership of Convergence Theatre Company (CTC), Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture, the Western Farm Workers Association, and the Yuba College Sociology Department. In line with the goals of the grant, the play addresses themes of social justice, public health, and civic engagement.
Salt of the Earth tells the true story of Mexican American zinc miners in New Mexico who went on strike for better sanitation and safer working conditions and had to overcome ethnic and gender divisions to succeed. It highlights the women in the community, especially Esperanza, the lead female character, whose name means “hope.” The film was banned by the U.S. Government and its makers were jailed and blacklisted by the Hollywood studios during the McCarthy Era, but it has since been restored and is considered a classic of American cinema. Today’s audiences may well find the story relevant to contemporary debates around workers’ rights, intersectionality, and immigration, and may also reflect on how the blacklisting of the film compares with current concerns about censorship, “cancel culture,” systemic racism, and antisemitism.
The play is directed by CTC’s Lydia Crist, who has a successful track record of directing and producing plays in the Yuba-Sutter area. CTC’s Matthew DeMerritt is Artistic Director for the production. Dr. Marc Flacks, Professor of Sociology at Yuba College, conceived the idea to adapt the play, wrote the adaptation being used for the production, and was awarded the grant from Upstate California Creative Corps to support the adaptation and production of the play. The play will be performed on June 6 and 7 at 7pm and on June 8 at 2pm at the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts, 754 Plumas Street, in Yuba City. Admission to the play is free, but please pre-register at yubasutterarts.org. For more information, please contact Marc Flacks at [email protected] or (562)-899-0464
