waiting for lefty

by Clifford Odets                                                                                                                                                                December 2014

directed by Benjamin Summers                                                                                                                                   Hyde Park Theatre

Street Corner Arts has brought together the talents of many of Austin’s favorite actors for this stage classic! This dynamic 1935 one-act launched the career of playwright Clifford Odets, became an important social document, and solidified the reputation of the Group Theatre. Seeing it now, over 75 years later, reminds us that there was once a blue-collar theatre audience, and the issues plaguing the country in the Depression era — corruption, deprivation, injustice, and wars between the haves and the have-nots — haven’t gone away.

CAST

Michael Stuart

Travis Dean

Garry Peters

Zac Thomas

Derek Jones

Michael Ferstenfeld

Molly Fonseca

David Scott

Claire Grasso

Hildreth England

Jeremy Brown

David Higgins

Josh Singleton

Kirk White

Katie Kohler

& Jeff Britt

REVIEWS

"It's been nearly 80 years since Odets' play was first produced by the Group Theatre, and the current rise of experiential, interactive theatre might be read as a bit of history repeating itself. Many thanks to Street Corner Arts for its homage to a way of producing and experiencing theatre that de-centers its audience while at once providing fine acting from a highly impressive cast."

Adam Roberts, Austin Chronicle

 

"Waiting for Lefty has the impetuous impact of a propaganda poster, but the vivid portrayal of human dilemma overrides the stereotypes. In a performance running scarcely more than an hour the audience is assaulted and swept away by the power of the performers. After Lefty fails to appear, the piece closes with the electrifying tableau of the vote on the strike. And if you're not on your feet with the shambling grim Travis Dean as old timer Agate when he summarizes the case for a strike, you'll be one of the few." 

Michael Meigs, CTX Live Theatre

 

"Director Benjamin Summers has taken an excellent ensemble cast and crafted a smartly paced, energetic, and taut production. The play starts off with an acrimonious meeting of taxicab drivers with their union leader at the union hall. Summers actually places some of the actors in the audience to create the illusion we — spectators as well as the actors — are all involved in the meeting and the events that follow."

Patrick McElhinney, Austin Entertainment Weekly

 

Nominee

B. Iden Payne

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Outstanding

Production

of a Drama

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Nominee

B. Iden Payne

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Featured

Actor

Zac

Thomas

Nominee

B. Iden Payne

​

Outstanding

Direction

Benjamin

Summers