The focus alternates between a union meeting of taxi. An examination of clifford odettes waiting for lefty daniel baumgardner the year waiting for lefty was published, its author, clifford odets, was officially a member of the communist party, the ideology of which is clearly expressed in the play. Odets fame as a playwright was made when he wrote and acted in waiting for lefty, produced by the group theatre in 1934. Waiting for lefty by clifford odets directed by drew vanderburg in this last segment the union workers declare a strike, to stand up for their right to earn a living wage. A oneact play, it is composed of interconnected scenes depicting social and economic dilemmas of workers in various fields.
The year waiting for lefty was published, its author, clifford odets, was officially a member of the communist party, the ideology of which is clearly expressed in. The opening scene is a hiring hall where a union leader obviously in the pay of the bosses is trying to convince a committee of workers. The flowering peach, clifford odets, oct 1, 1973, drama, 89 pages. Waiting for lefty is a hamhanded political statement to make the point that communism lefty. From then until its collapse in 1940, the group theatre produced seven plays by odets, all of which reflect the depression era in which they were written. The event was cancelled by the board of selectmen stating that the play is about strikes and things, and gives people the wrong kind of ideas. Waiting for lefty study guide contains a biography of clifford odets, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Welcome to the teacher resource guide for lincoln center theaters production of clifford odets classic play golden boy. When it was first produced by the group theater in 1935, waiting for lefty made a sensation of its playwright, clifford odets, who became the theatrical conscience of his generation, much as arthur miller and tony kushner later would for their own generations. His first play, waiting for lefty 1935, an agitprop play about strikers, was an enormous success. Clifford odets 19061963 waiting for lefty is ingenious and forthright rather than impressive as play writing.
One of the first examples of proletarian drama, the play takes place during the depression, in a meeting hall of the taxi drivers union. Books by clifford odets author of waiting for lefty and. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of waiting for lefty by clifford odets. Waiting for lefty by clifford odets university of washington. Analysis waiting for lefty 1935 clifford odets 19061963.
Odets began his acting career playing small supporting roles and understudying at the poets theatre and the guild theatre. Playwright clifford odets, the unextinguished white hope of the american theater as he was called by newspapers in the 30s, was known for pioneering social dramas such as waiting for lefty and awake and sing. Department of english letters, faculty of letters, sanata dharma university, 2009. Waiting for lefty book by clifford odets 1 available. Waiting for lefty by clifford odets directed by drew vanderburg this is the first of seven segments of odetss famous unionization play. Waiting for lefty as the curtain goes up weseea bare stage. During the play these men are waiting for a man named lefty, who is the leader of this union. This video contains fats opening monologue and the. Waiting for lefty is ingenious and forthright rather than impressive as play writing. Clifford odets waiting for lefty in his play waiting for lefty clifford odets attempts to stir up the weary american public of the 1930s by providing examples of everyday people who, with some coaxing, rise above the capitalist mess theyve inherited and take control of their destinies. Clifford odets 19061963 odets was born in philadelphia to an impoverished jewish family. Class struggle as the impact of oppression seen in clifford odets waiting for lefty.
Pdf waiting for lefty, which was written by clifford odets during the great depression of the thirties, has become not only an emblematic play. Clifford odets was born july 18th, 1906 in philadelphia, pennsylvania. This video contains fats opening monologue and the joe and. Clifford odetss name will always be associated by theatergoers with the word strike. Full text of three dramas of american individualism see other formats. Waiting for lefty, which was written by clifford odets during the great depression of the thirties, has become not only an emblematic play of agitprop theatre but also it proves to be an emotional. Clifford odets july 18, 1906 august 14, 1963 was an american playwright, screenwriter, and director. Enclosure a collection of plays, robert james nelson, gerald clifford weales, 1975, drama, 282 pages.
Waiting for lefty is a 1935 play by the american playwright clifford odets. In the climactic finale of his taxiunion drama waiting for lefty, the. Waiting for lefty by clifford odets looking up at down readings february 1821 some of the most influential theatre artists of the twentieth century, men and women who were instrumental to the development of theatre and film in america, passed through or were once associates of the group theatre. Dec 12, 2010 waiting for lefty by clifford odets directed by drew vanderburg in this last segment the union workers declare a strike, to stand up for their right to earn a living wage.
This was the quintessential proletarian drama in which the actors and the audience on opening night arose at the end of. Apr 25, 2015 inspired by the new york city taxi strike of 1934 the agitprop play waiting for lefty by clifford odets was set for its town hall premiere that summer in provincetown. Waiting for lefty was inspired by the 1934 new york city taxi strike and is written in the format of a minstrel show. The framing uses the audience as part of the meeting. Consisting of a series of related vignettes, the entire play is framed by a meeting of cab drivers who are planning a labor strike. Waiting for lefty is a 1935 political and perhaps even revolutionary play written by american playwright clifford odets.
A striving life clifford odets was born in philadelphia, on july 18, 1906, the son of a workingclass jewish family made good. Clifford odets waiting for lefty essay waiting lefty. Its production in new york was simultaneous with the citys famous taxicab strike, and for that reason among others it gained considerable public attention. Clifford odetss waiting for lefty is a vigorous, confrontational work, based on a 1934 strike of unionized new york cabdrivers. It tells the story of 56 men who create a union meeting that was meant to bring together workers who were getting underpaid.
Waiting for lefty is a 1935 play by clifford odets. One of the most celebrated and significant plays of the modern american theatre, waiting for lefty by clifford odets is set in the depression era and deals with the exploitation of the working classes. The union members are waiting for their representative, lefty, to arrive so. In the mid1930s he was widely seen as the potential successor to nobel prizewinning playwright eugene oneill, as oneill began to withdraw from broadways commercial pressures and increasing critical backlash. A fat man of porcine appearance is talking directly to the audience. Class struggle is a collective effort of an oppressed class against the class that oppresses them. Odets fame as a playwright was made when he wrote and acted in waiting for lefty, produced by the. Jan 14, 2011 waiting for lefty by clifford odets directed by drew vanderburg this is the first of seven segments of odets s famous unionization play. He was raised in philadelphia and in the bronx, new york, and dropped out of school to become an actor. Study guidelobby packett prepared by sara freeman, dramaturg section i clifford odets. The play, which focuses on a group of taxi drivers planning a labor strike, was the first of odets works to be performed on the stage. Waiting for lefty, oneact play by clifford odets, published and produced in 1935.
Waiting for lefty by clifford odets berkshire fine arts. Read waiting for lefty in waiting for lefty and other plays. Full text of three dramas of american individualism. First presented by the famous group theatre, the play has become a symbol of its times and a beacon for many soontobe famous playwrights. Complete summary of clifford odets waiting for lefty.
Waiting for lefty study guide contains a biography of clifford odets, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full. Waiting for lefty solidarity forever part 7 of 7 youtube. Waiting for lefty is a play set during the great depression. The depiction of the american working class in waiting for lefty gained odets many accolades and earned him. Louis odets, his father, had been a peddler, but also worked as a printer for a publishing company. In other words he is the head of a union and the men. It was firstly produced by the group theatrean american, new york city. A critical and popular success, this masterfully constructed work brings searing intensity and rare theatrical excitement to its probing, yet sharply. Lolling against the proscenium down left is a young man chewing a toothpick. Benjamin, miller, stein, mitchell, phillips, keller. The action of the play is comprised of a series of varied, imaginatively conceived episodes, which blend into a powerful and stirring mosaic. Waiting for lefty by clifford odets directed by drew vanderburg this is the first of seven segments of odets s famous unionization play. On it are sitting six or seven men in a semicircle.