League of Youth, The

Full-Lengths

By: Arthur Reel
Cast: 10 M, 3 F
Performance Time: Approximately 120 minutes, 90 pgs.

FARCE/SATIRE. This streamlined adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s The League of Youth (1869), cuts the original play by a third, allowing for Ibsen’s humor and wit to be showcased. The storyline focuses on the ambitious Stensgard, a two-faced social climber and opportunist, who decides to challenge the political forces in his town by forming a new radical party, The League of Youth. Stensgard, along with the power-hungry farmer, Lundestad, target Bratsberg, the benevolent town elder. Stensgard preaches egalitarian rhetoric to manipulate the townspeople so that he can achieve greater fame and social status for himself. The action is swift in this fresh, farcical play that pokes fun at politics and societal pretension.

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Arthur Reel founded the Drama Repertory Theatre in 1973 and has co-produced more than 200 shows, many of which he directed. Mr. Reel has adapted for the stage many prose classics, including Voltaire’s Candide and works by Gogol, Gorky, and Chekhov. He currently resides in New York City, where he teaches acting, voice, and communications.