After many months of hard work and dedication from a talented cast and crew, Missouri State T&D Department’s Waiting for Lefty is ready to hit the stage!
In the depths of the Great Depression, the New York City cab drivers’ union meets to consider a strike for fair wages and better working conditions. Present is Harry Fatt, a corrupt union boss who actually represents the interests of the taxi fleet owners; Tom Clayton, a company “plant” hired to sow discord and break up the union; and armed guards to intimidate the rank-and-file members. Mysteriously absent is Lefty Costello, the elected leader of the workers who are struggling to feed their families. Has Lefty abandoned the cause, or has something more sinister prevented him from attending? The drivers’ plight is presented in a series of heart-wrenching vignettes that ignite a call for action. As Lefty’s fate is finally revealed, the drivers vote to unite and fight. Based on the New York Taxi Strike of 1934, “Waiting for Lefty” captures a moment in American history that still echoes today. To hear more about the central themes and ideas surrounding the play’s plot, we interviewed director Kyle A. Thomas.
Kyle provided a bit more information regarding the richness of the play’s story by saying, “Various scenes play out depicting how the struggles of low pay and debilitating working conditions affect the characters and their families. The play reflects a pro-union sentiment and represents the human cost behind the labor movement over the decades.” It is an entirely relatable storyline, and depicts some of the struggles of the working class still going on today. The presence of union workers and their battle for liveable wages is not unknown to the current workforce in our own communities.
Waiting for Lefty is one of two plays playing in repertory in the Craig Hall Balcony Theatre for the next two weeks. That means both this production and our department’s production of Sweat are taking place in the same space. To hear more about how this worked, we asked Kyle about the process of sharing a stage with another production. This was his response,
“Sharing the space has been pretty smooth, so far. And that’s thanks to the efforts of Kathleen Hains and the production teams who are working hard to organize everything ahead of time and creating a schedule that works best for everyone.”
It seems every member involved in the cast and crew of these productions played a role in making the repertory system smooth and easy, which definitely sounds like a feat in itself!
Lastly, we wanted to know what audiences should expect to take away from seeing this production of Waiting for Lefty. Kyle hopes “audiences take away either a new-found or a re-invigorated respect for the working class and a keen sense of the importance of the labor movement and labor unions.” This production would not be possible without all members of the cast, crew, design teams, and faculty who poured their time and energy into getting it ready for the stage. This production deserves an audience, so hop on over to https://theatreanddance.missouristate.edu/CurrentProductions.htm to purchase a ticket before it’s too late!
