You Can't Take It With You received the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1937. On the surface it is a light romance between young adults from very different families. On closer inspection, it is a short course on the events leading up to World War II. The ensemble dove into the history, the movies, and cultural touchstones of depression-era America. Period music, hair, and costume helped create an authentic atmosphere.

Eighteen performers, a stage management team of four, plus two stage hands collaborated from early January through March seventh’s opening night. After the closing performance on Sunday, the collaboration continued through strike and culminated in a potluck cast and crew party on the stage, which had been reset to the magical empty space that has been holding a dizzying array of performing arts for about thirty-five years.