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In 1935, President Roosevelt (1882–1945) created the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which provided jobs for 8.5 million people, including artists, writers, musicians, and actors. Inspired by rank-and-file labor activism, Marc Blitzstein (1905–1964) intended his WPA Federal Theatre Project musical The Cradle Will Rock for a “new audience . . . clamoring for something vital.” After the federal government postponed its opening during a period of labor unrest, the production was moved and actors performed from the audience to avoid breaking union rules.