description Waiting for Lefty Overview
Waiting for Lefty is a 1935 one-act play by American dramatist Clifford Odets, structured around a meeting where New York taxi drivers debate whether to strike. Short scenes reveal the economic pressures facing individual workers while the assembled drivers wait for organizer Lefty Costello to arrive. First performed by the Group Theatre, the work uses direct address, episodic action, and agitprop techniques to involve its audience in questions of labor organization and collective action.
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Who wrote Waiting for Lefty?
Waiting for Lefty is a 1935 one-act play by American dramatist Clifford Odets. It was one of Odets's earliest successes and became closely associated with the politically engaged theater of the 1930s.
What is Waiting for Lefty about?
The play is structured around a union meeting where New York taxi drivers debate whether to strike. Short scenes reveal the economic pressures facing individual workers while the assembled drivers wait for their organizer, Lefty, to arrive.
When was Waiting for Lefty first performed?
Waiting for Lefty was first performed in 1935, during the height of the Great Depression. Its depiction of working-class struggle resonated strongly with audiences of the era and helped establish the Group Theatre as a force in American drama.
Is Waiting for Lefty a full-length play?
No, Waiting for Lefty is a one-act play. Despite its short format, it is one of Clifford Odets's most famous and frequently studied works, notable for its direct engagement with labor politics and its use of audience-addressed scenes.
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