"Waiting for Lefty"

“Waiting for Lefty”

By Clifford Odets

Directed by Steven Pasquale

Original and Arranged Music by Yeller Tooth

Choreography by Susan Misner

Presented by the Classic Stage Company

Workers are angered that they can’t earn enough money to feed their families and pay their rents.  They are told by the people in power that organizing will make them “communist reds.” And antisemitism is surging. Sound familiar?  It’s actually the subject of a play presented on Broadway 91 years ago.  After a production by the left-leaning Group Theatre of Clifford Odet’s first play, “Waiting for Lefty,” it was banned by local governments across the United States.  Now it’s being revived in an arresting production at the Classic Stage Company. Directed by Steven Pasquale, this 75-minute portrait of “the life of the common man” during the great depression continues to be a lesson for all of us in these challenging times.

“Waiting for Lefty” was originally produced as part of the Federal Theatre Project, but it became a call for worker uprisings across our country. The play is a set of six brief vignettes centered on New York City taxi workers debating unionization while they struggle to provide for their families and try to live a rational life. The Classic Stage production stunningly maintains the Odet’s original text and style with the addition of new and adapted folk songs performed hauntingly between each episode by Yellow Tooth, a collaboration by Cameron Scoggins and Sahar Milani.

Mr. Pasquale’s first major directing effort - he is a well-known actor- is a moving and insightful portrayal of people we might encounter every day, struggling in hard times to maintain a decent existence. The production reflects a5 powerful collaboration among the designers, musicians, and choreographer.  The cast is full of actors who look and act like people we would bump into on the street – large and small, young and old. They embody Odet’s coarse language and expose the challenges of “the common man.”  The costumes by Marion Talan de la Rosa help define each character.  The evocative lighting by Mextly Couzin reflects the mood of the moment. It is clear that the entire company has a unified approach to communicating with a modern audience and much of the credit for that collaboration falls to Mr. Pasquale.

This production truly reflects the title of this organization – a classic American play that is as relevant today as it was 91 years ago.  It is time to “strike, strike, strike!”