The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at Ivy Building for the Arts

Described by Bertolt Brecht as a “gangster play that would recall certain events familiar to us all,” THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI is a biting satire of Hitler’s rise to power, set in the underworld of 1930s Chicago. Brecht was fascinated by Chicago and the rise of American gangsters like Al Capone. As Hitler consolidated power in Germany, he drew on those obsessions to craft THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI, a cautionary tale that recasts dictatorship in the guise of Chicago’s criminal underworld. Its parable of corruption, violence, and authoritarianism remains chillingly relevant wherever totalitarianism takes root.

Frank Theatre first staged ARTURO UI in 2001, transforming an old munitions factory on the Metropolitan State University campus into a searing performance space just after 9/11. Nearly 25 years later, the company returns to Brecht’s cautionary tale with renewed urgency.