By Charles McNulty
Theater Critic
“An Enemy of the People,” Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play about a doctor-turned-whistle-blower, is never out of season. But it would be challenging to find a 19th century drama that speaks as directly to our pandemic-scarred society as this one.
Dr. Anthony Fauci could vouch for the accuracy of Ibsen’s play, which depicts the way politicians and business leaders close ranks when a public health emergency threatens their pecuniary interests.
Dr. Stockmann, the crusading doctor who refuses to compromise on scientific principles, is designated “an enemy of the people” for his defiant opposition to a pressure campaign to suppress information he’s uncovered on the contaminated water supply feeding the town’s mineral baths, the economic lifeblood of the community.