Historian Howard Zinn writes, "The pretense of the laissez-faire (proponents) is that only the poor are dependent on government, while the rich take care of themselves.

"This argument manages to ignore all of modern history, which shows a consistent record of laissez-faire for the poor, but enormous government intervention for the rich."

In other words, when (so-called) free-market idealists are in charge, the little guy is on his or her own, while the fat cat gets the government hand-out.

Zinn published his essay on economic justice (and injustice) not in the past few weeks, as lawmakers scrambled to bail out fat-cat Wall Street at little-guy taxpayers' expense, but in 1990.

Zinn will be in Boulder Wednesday to participate in a local performance of "Voices of a People's History of the United States," a growing and malleable theatrical phenomenon that features speeches and songs from the Zinn-edited anthology of the same name.

The anthology is a companion piece to Zinn's most widely read book, "A People's History of the United States," which explores America's history through the experiences, ideas and expressions of those mostly outside of established power circles.

"Voices," the book, includes words by hundreds of people, including luminaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Mark Twain, Patti Smith and Woody Guthrie, as well as lesser-known Americans. A rotating cast of actors, artists, musicians, activists and scholars have delivered Voices performances all over the country more than 40 times since its first performance in 2003.

In August, Zinn was joined by Hollywood actors Matt Damon and Josh Brolin in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. They took part in a panel discussion and promoted an upcoming film version of the Voices project.

But it's not the famous people involved, it's the extraordinary words about social justice uttered or written by "ordinary" Americans that make the Voices project special, says project publicist Brenda Coughlin.

"These are people who organized and struggled and spoke out, made music and art," Coughlin said via phone from New York last week. "That's part of our country's history."

Along with Zinn, who will narrate the performance on Wednesday at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado campus, others slated to perform are David Barsamian, director of the locally produced "Alternative Radio" program, Anthony Arnove, co-editor with Zinn on the "Voices" book, and singer Mollie O'Brien.

Also, Vincent Harding, a professor emeritus at Denver's Iliff School of Theology, will appear. He was a speechwriter for MLK during the civil-rights movement and drafted the former leader's famous anti-Vietnam speech "A Time to Break Silence," which King delivered in 1967.

Adding local flavor to Wednesday's performance: The words of Colorado native Dalton Trumbo and labor activist Joe Hill, some of whose ashes are scattered at a coal miners' monument in Lafayette, are on the bill.

The past weeks, it was hard to get away from the voices of power in Washington and pundits on cable news channels or talk radio as they spun their way through another financial crisis.

It's a perfect time to take in the words of some of the less powerful.

Wednesday's performance is a fundraiser for both KGNU radio and the Voices project. Tickets are $10-$30; call 303-449-4885 or visit www.peopleshistory.us/events/boulder for more information.

Costume sale at BDT

Boulder's Dinner Theatre, 5501 Arapahoe Ave., will hold a costume sale, open to the public, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. BDT will hold a pre-sale for theater companies from 10 a.m. to noon that day. If theater companies are looking for something specific, they are urged to call BDT's Michael Duran at 303-449-6000, ext. 120.

Jean Valjean,

take three

The Arvada Center's hot-ticket production of "Les Miserables" lost its original leading actor during the Sept. 27 performance. Randal Keith, playing Jean Valjean, broke and dislocated his ankle during an exit early in the matinee that day. The matinee was canceled and understudy Drew Frady -- without even a true understudy rehearsal -- went on that evening as Valjean. Frady played the role for the past week, but he was to be replaced by another actor in the role this weekend.

The Arvada Center hired Dennis St. Pierre to play Valjean. St. Pierre just finished playing the role at the Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick, Maine. Also, the Arvada Center announced this week the run of "Les Mis" has been extended a second time. Originally scheduled to close Oct. 11, it now runs through Oct. 25. Call 720-898-7200 for more information.

Contact Camera Theater Critic Mark Collins at 303-473-1369 or BDCTheater@comcast.net.