Waiting For Lefty
by Clifford Odets

Waiting For Lefty

Synopsis

THE STORY: The action of the play is comprised of a series of varied, imaginatively conceived episodes, which blend into a powerful and stirring mosaic.

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 (who are waiting for their leader, Lefty, to arrive) not to strike.

This is followed by a moving confrontation between a discouraged taxi driver, who cannot earn enough to live on, and his angry wife, who wants him to show some backbone and stand up to his employer; a revealing scene between a scheming boss and the young worker who refuses to spy on his fellow employees; a sad/funny episode centering on a young cabbie and his would-be bride, who lack the wherewithal to get married; a disturbing scene involving a senior doctor and the underpaid young intern (a labor activist) whom the doctor has been ordered to discharge; and, finally, a return to the union hall where the workers, learning that Lefty has been gunned down by the powers-that-be, resolve at last to stand up for their rights and to strike-and to stay off their jobs until their grievances are finally heard and acted upon by those who have so cynically exploited and misused them.

Performance

Cast

A small cast size of 2 total roles, 2 female roles.

Publication

Year Published
1962
ISBN 10
0822212153
ISBN 13
9780822212157
Binding
Paperback
Print Length
32 pages
Place Published
New York
Language
English
Print
Waiting For Lefty is a American play written by and published by Dramatists Play Service in New York, 1962. The print edition has an ISBN-13 of 9780822212157 and an ISBN-10 of 0822212153.

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