Continuing its tradition of mounting American classics, Chicago's Raven Theatre will mount An Enemy of the People, previewing Oct. 18-23 and opening on Thursday, Oct. 24.

In 1950, American dramatist Arthur Miller adapted Henrik Ibsen's drama, about a community poisoned by its water well, to make it more up-to-date and accessible to modern audiences.

Raven Theatre's production will be directed by the theatre's artistic director, Andrew Menendian who chose the play because "it fits into many of Raven's missions. We've built a reputation on American classics, and we're trying to expand into classics from around the world. Enemy is the work of two great modern authors."

Menendian also pointed out Raven's happy association with playwright Miller. They've done four of his plays (All My Sons, A Memory Of Two Mondays, The Crucible, and Death Of A Salesman) in six years. Although Miller's never attended a Raven production, they do correspond with him. There's even a letter from Miller hanging in Raven Theatre's lobby, thanking them for their critically lauded production of A Memory Of Two Mondays.

Previous productions of An Enemy Of The People include a 1985 Off Broadway mounting at the Roundabout in New York (starring Roy Dotrice), and a 1990 production on PBS-TV starring John Glover. For tickets or information: (312) 338-2177.

-- By David Lefkowitz