Waiting for Lefty
After watching Waiting for Lefty, by Clifford Odets, I wished that Theatre West had filled the lobby with pictures and articles about our present-day taxi drivers in Los Angeles, mentioning that with 18 hour shifts they take home less than minimum pay after paying off the cab owners; or had given examples of how actors receive (after the most recent SAG negotiations) residual payments for as little as a few cents (my actor friends line their walls with these ridiculous checks); or had reminded us of how so many of our neighbors die through lack of health care while employers hire part-time workers, thus avoiding the expense of health care all together; and commented on the current treats to Social Security and Medicare, landmark legislation of their time. Anything to arouse the audience to join in the final chorus on stage, “Strike, strike, strike, strike, strike...” But perhaps people have to be starving before change can be brought about.
When we look back on the men and women depicted in Waiting for Lefty, we see them as heroic figures. With much blood shed they courageously brought the advances many working men and women enjoy today. At the first performance in 1935 there were riots in the streets, traffic was totally jammed; policemen banged taxi drivers over the heads with billy clubs, and the audience members went wild, stomping their feet, following the actors out of the theatre afterwards wanting to know how they managed to have the audacity to say the things they had said.
It is not, however, only its social significance, that makes the play enduring: everything about it is in contrast to the upper class drawing room comedies prevalent in the 1930’s. The play begins in the middle of an argument (a ground breaking technique for its time). The opening lines are: “You’re so wrong I ain’t laughing”; the audience is catapulted into the discussion and must play catch up. The language itself captivates us. Ungrammatical jargon of the streets becomes lyrical poetry: “That sort of life [the good life] ain’t for the dogs which is us.” “Christ, Baby! I got like thunder in my chest when we’re together.” “God damnit, it’s trying to be a man on the earth.” “The Clancy family is growing nuts.” “The big-shot money men want us like that…highly insulting us.” “I’m piling up a fortune. Why? To be the richest man in the cemetery?” Clifford Odets listened to real people on the streets, even recording his family to find the essence and flavor of the language he used. He paved the way for Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, playwrights who considered him to be their paramount influence.
Theatre West handsomely tells this tale of cabbies contemplating a strike in a corrupt union meeting hall (beautifully designed and lighted by Jeff Rack and Yancey Dunham). The creative staging of director/producer Charlie Mount (which must have had its origins in the original New York production) has actors all over the house and in the aisles, as well as going on and off stage; the audience is engulfed.
Waiting for their leader, Lefty, to show up, we are given glimpses into the lives of the various characters: a cab driver whose wife threatens to leave him unless he stands up for himself (effectively performed by Paul Gunning and Kristine Wiegand, eliciting a heartfelt applause from the audience); a lab assistant (perfectly depicted by Charlie Mount) who is asked by his boss to spy on an important chemist; a cabbie who wants to marry but who doesn’t make enough money to support a family; a company spy who is uncovered at the union meeting; a Doctor who is fired due to the anti-Semitic policies of his hospital – a hospital which also plans to close its charity ward; an unemployed actor who is counseled by a secretary in a producers office (compelling performed by Sandra Tucker) to join the Communist Party.
This is an ensemble piece and all the actors manage to create distinct and real characters, packed with energy and humanity, in a style reminiscent of their times. Those not previously mentioned include David Baer, Charles Baird, Heather Becker, Elizabeth Bradshaw, Adam Conger, Roger Cruz, Alan Freeman, Jason Galloway, Anthony Gruppuso, Heather Keller, Daniel Keough, Don Moore, Alan Schack.
The matinee I attended was a satisfying afternoon in the theatre. Although somewhat dated, Waiting for Lefty stillrings true somehow. The female characters seem full and rich and powerful in contrast to the way women are often portrayed in many of today’s plays. People seem more pure of heart and dedicated, except for the villains, of course. Could this be a fanciful look into the past? An idealistic representation of humanity, a benevolent dream where people are really good at heart, given half a chance? That’s it…that’s what I sense in the play and why I like it so much. I recommend this production.
Theatre West
3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, CA. 90068
September 3 - October 10, 2010. Fri. & Sat. at 8, Sun. at 2
$22 seniors $17 Current military $11, KCRW members $18, Students $5 (ID’s needed)
(323) 851-7077
www.theatrewest.org