With Hope for Our Future - A Note from Bobbi

If you are like me, one of the reasons I go to the theatre is to engage myself in the questions facing our world. This past week, my concerns were once again put to the test as I watched our election cycle. I have found it unsettling how many candidates ran for public office who based their campaigns on fraudulent principles that undercut the trust in our sacred institutions. They cast doubt on elections unless they win and lambast scientists unless they can make a profit off them.

Now that the election has taken place, my concern persists knowing that some of these same candidates won. What will this do to our future?

This concern is why I am proud of Stage Left Theatre’s MAN OF THE PEOPLE as our Fall 2022 production; our first in-person production since the pandemic. Dolore Díaz has written a beautiful play which we are honored to bring to life about Dr. John Brinkley and his charismatic quackery. He fought the American Medical Association, the Federal Communication Commission, election officials in Kansas, and anyone else who would get in the way of his charlatan sales pitch and profiteering.

When you watch the show, which I hope you will do, it is impossible not to see the parallels between his life and what we are facing in our country today. A recurring theme in the play is one of hope and it reminds us that we have seen political demagogues who take advantage of the public’s fear before and we have survived. The show emboldens our resilience to face them down again and maintain our civility and dignity in what has been a mystifying history of populism descending to the lowest common denominator when seduced by a conman.

MAN OF THE PEOPLE is running through Sunday, November 20, 2022 at Chicago Dramatist. If you need a little something to buttress your hope after the revelations of this recent election cycle, I encourage you to not miss this opportunity! More details about the show, performance times, and links to purchase tickets can be found at www.stagelefttheatre.com.

If you cannot attend, I would invite you to consider making a donation to Stage Left Theatre. We have mounted this production with considerable costs that are difficult for us to recoup through ticket sales. For there to be a future where stories like this can be told, we need the support of generous donors like you.

I believe in the power of theatre to harvest insight and dialogue about the challenges we face. Thank you for being a supporter of Stage Left Theatre and a theatergoer. Together, we can survive, dare I say even thrive during the challenges we face.

With hope for our future,

Bobbi Masters

Artistic Director, Stage Left Theatre