SoHo Shakespeare Company & Small Boat Productions to Present Clifford Odets' WAITING FOR LEFTY

"The world is supposed to be for all of us"

The year is 1934 and the Great Depression has plunged America into economic turmoil. Hunger is rampant while inequality has skyrocketed. Breadlines extend around city blocks and shanty towns erect on the streets and in the parks. The working class struggles with starvation wages and the collapse of their personal lives.

What can people do in times so dire?

Clifford Odets' classic play, written in 1934, looks through the lens of a taxi drivers union to understand the economic and social pressures of America during the Great Depression. SoHo Shakespeare Company and Small Boat Productions are bringing this historic play back to New York, nearly 90 years after its Broadway debut in January 1935.

WAITING FOR LEFTY will run from August 22 to September 8, 2024 at The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, New York.

Ben Natan, executive director of Small Boat Productions and an executive producer on this production says, "'WAITING FOR LEFTY' is about societal ills that we are still struggling with today: economic inequality, racism, sexism, antisemitism, and militarism are all confronted over the course of just one act. However, this is really a play about self-determination. It is about people who are sick of waiting for hapless leaders to better their conditions and instead take it upon themselves to change the world for the better. In a moment of unprecedented insurgency of the American labor movement and activists across this country, it feels like the right time to do such a play."

The cast includes Ahmad Maher*, Charlie Rodriguez*, Marcus Stewart, Maya Jeyam*, Michael Aurelio* (MTC, The Old Globe), Milena Makse, and Txai Frota in principal roles. Angela Parra, Ben Natan*, and Cito Mena will understudy.

The creative team currently includes Alex Pepperman (Director), Ryanne Ello (Assistant Director), Miranda Tejeda (Stage Manager). The poster is designed by Alexander Passikoff.

Executive produced by Alex Pepperman and Ben Natan.