THEATRE

Bertolt Brecht and Tony Kushner are among the most entertaining and provocative playwrights in the history of theater. Put them together for The Good Person of Setzuan and the result is an exhilerating parable of love and money, written by Brecht when fascism was rising in Europe and grounded by Kushner in the social and economic realities and relations of our own time.

FPTC founding member Nick Thorkelson, the composer, will lead the four-piece Carny Band, providing original live music for the play's many songs. Just as Brecht and his collaborators created theater songs based on German dance hall music of their era, the Carny Band will carry the tradition forward in musical riffs derived from doo-wop balladry, gospel, new wave, gypsy jazz, and more from our own times.

Thorkelson has performed in various rock, blues, soul, and reggae bands, including Boston’s first reggae band, Jamaica Hylton. He co-wrote and helped stage a workshop production of Defarge, a musical based on A Tale of Two Cities. Collaborating with Thorkelson is his brother, Peter Tork, formerly of The Monkees.