Waiting for Lefty at American Blues Theater | Theater review

It’s fitting that Waiting for Lefty’s opening night coincided with President Obama’s proposal of a bold new jobs plan before Congress. Clifford Odets’s Depression-era drama about a cab-driver union contemplating a strike is a harsh critique of big-business practices in the U.S.; while the clothes and language may be dated, the issues certainly are not. Discrimination in the workplace, shady dealings within the military-industrial complex and distrust among union members are still problems in the labor force. The strength of this revival lies in capturing its characters’ honest emotional responses as they fight for their futures.

Director Kimberly Senior fills the union meeting with nonspeaking characters, heightening the gathering’s grave intensity by packing the stage with somber faces desperate for work. Senior develops a striking contrast between the chaos of the meeting and the solemnity of the interspersed vignettes offering insight into the characters’ personal lives. In two roles conceived for men, Cheryl Graeff and Mechelle Moe turn in the show’s most poignant performances; their casting gives the script an extra layer of gender commentary. While the 1935 play’s push for embracing communism may not remain too relevant, the fundamental idea of unity during economic crisis continues to resonate.