Marjorie Lyons Playhouse presents “An Enemy of the People” in October

SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary assistant professor of theatre Logan Sledge will direct An Enemy of the People at the College’s Marjorie Lyons Playhouse October 3 through 6. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. October 3 through 5 and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 6.

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote An Enemy of the People in 1882 and it was adapted by American Arthur Miller in 1950. The play explores the explosive consequences when one man’s quest to expose an inconvenient truth threatens and angers a larger community. In Ibsen’s original, a small Norwegian town has just begun to win fame and wealth through its medicinal spring waters. Dr. Stockmann, resident physician in charge, discovers that the waters are poisoned. On receiving proof of this, he immediately reports to his associates, but is shocked to find that instead of being thanked, he is looked upon as a dangerous crank.

“The play is at once both a scathing indictment of political corruption and the inherent corruptibility of the body politic,” says director Sledge. “It is also a grim warning about the dangers of denying empirical fact. We watch what happens when people abandon science for sensationalism, principles for practicality, and, perhaps most importantly, individual thought for the cerebral safety of the masses.”

Tickets for An Enemy of the People are $15 for general admission, $10 for military personnel and seniors, and $5 for students with ID. Tickets are free for all Centenary students, faculty, and staff. Visit centenary.edu/playhouse for more information or to purchase tickets.

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