Waiting for Lefty is one of the most celebrated and significant plays of the modern American theatre. Set in the Depression era, and dealing with the cynical exploitation of the working class, this powerful exploration of the human spirit and the resilience of the American family still holds significance with audiences today.
Praise
“This is no museum piece, but a vital portrait of the ongoing struggle for economic justice . . . In a 45-minute series of tightly constructed and emotionally rich scenes, Jason Kae’s mostly young cast hits every note with passionate intensity . . . A married couple, Edna and Joe (played with painful truthfulness by Rebekah Ward-Hays and Andy Baldeschwiler) realize that their financial plight may spell the end of their partnership . . . BackStage Theatre Company’s muscular and heartfelt revival makes a welcome addition to the current season.”
- Chicago Tribune
“… we have Kae’s searing revival of Lefty to remind us of the power of political theater done well … Andy Baldeschwiler and Rebekah Ward-Hays excel as a husband and wife at wit’s end, and Robert Fagin and Brenda Barrie break our hearts as young lovers doomed by economic circumstance.”
January 1st, 1970
Would any major American playwright today generate a play as overtly revolutionary, as full of incitement as Waiting For Lefty? At Lefty’s 1935 premiere, critic Brooks Atkinson wrote in The New York Times that “the progress of the revolutionary drama in New York City during the last two seasons is the most obvious recent development in our theatre.” Does that spirit still exist? Or are modern playwrights only interested in class distinctions as sources of tension for their wealthy main characters (as in Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House) and in the poor as exaggerated white-trash caricatures (as in Adam Rapp’s Stone Cold Dead Serious)? Even the late August Wilson, who found more mainstream success in writing about the lower classes than most recent playwrights, was writing more as a chronicler of history than an activist seeking to light a fire. While we ponder that question, we have Kae’s searing revival of Lefty to remind us of the power of political theater done well. Odets’s collage of scenes leading up to a taxi drivers’ strike alternates between a fractious union meeting and flashbacks to the individual indignities that led the little guys to stand up. Kae’s well-cast ensemble rarely overplays its hand, but it’s the domestic scenes that stand out: Andy Baldeschwiler and Rebekah Ward-Hays excel as a husband and wife at wit’s end, and Robert Fagin and Brenda Barrie break our hearts as young lovers doomed by economic circumstance. When the ensemble chants, “Strike! Strike!,” at the one-act’s end, we’re more than ready to march.
- Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
- Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago (Read the full review)
Jeff Citation Nomination – Outstanding Ensemble 2008 Jeff Citation Nomination – Rebekah Ward-Hays – Actress in a Supporting Role 2008
- Joseph Jefferson Non-Equity Awards
Cast & Crew
Brenda Barrie
Florrie
Brenda Barrie accepted the invitation to be an Ensemble Member in 2008. Credits with BSTC include Aunt Dan in the Jeff Recommended production of Aunt Dan and Lemon, Lauren Chickering in the Chicago premiere of Beauty on the Vine, originally produced in New York by the Epic Theatre Center with Olivia Wilde as Lauren, Li'l Bit in the acclaimed How I Learned to Drive which garnered the cast and crew Critic's Choice in the Reader, and Florrie in Waiting for Lefty, which received a Jeff Nomination for Ensemble. Credits around town include the title role in the Jeff Recommended production of Mrs. Caliban at Lifeline Theatre, Lulu in The Ruby Sunrise at the Gift Theatre, the title role in Mariette in Ecstasy with Lifeline Theatre (which garnered Barrie a Jeff Nomination for Principal Actress), understudying Curly's Wife in Of Mice and Men at Steppenwolf Theatre (SYA), originating the role of Sara in the world premiere of the critically acclaimed Graceland at Profiles Theatre, Miss Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire with Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, understudying the female leads in St. Scarlet for American Theatre Company, Lena in Caravaggio with Silk Road Theatre Project, Ala in Tango at the Chopin Theatre, Ensemble in the 13th Annual Winter Pageant with Redmoon Theater, Soloist in Ragnorak with Tantalus Theatre Group and Fannie in Thimbleberry Gallows with GreyZelda Theatre Group. She also enjoyed doing the motion capture for Wonder Woman & Cat Woman in the video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, and is currently preparing for The New Elements Play Festival in late April. Brenda earned her BFA in Acting from the University of Indianapolis and studied theatre at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. www.brendabarrie.net
Heath Hays
Scenic/Props Designer
Heath is a BackStage Ensemble member, where he has designed set for On An Average Day, The Memory of Water, Beauty on the Vine, Bloody Bess and Zombies from the Beyond as well as the Jeff-recommended shows Waiting for Lefty and Medea. He also designed sound for BackStage's The Ruling Class and Seanachi Theatre's drama Whistle in the Dark. He designed set for Infamous Conmmonwealth Theatre's Keely and Du, GreyZelda's Jeff-recommended production of A View From The Bridge as well as their Desire Under the Elms, and Hell in a Handbag's Caged Dames. Heath has also worked for Grounded Theatre, Arena Dinner Theatre, and Village Players.
Lindsey Miller
Stage Manager
Lindsey Miller became BackStage's newest Ensemble member in May 2009. She has stage managed BackStage's On An Average Day, The Memory of Water, Waiting for Lefty, and Bloody Bess: A Tale of Piracy and Revenge. Other Chicago credits include The Bay at Nice (Vitalist Theatre), Stone Cold Dead Serious (Circle Theater; Jeff Nominated). Lindsey has also worked with Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Road Company, and CLIMB Theatre.
Matt Roth
Lighting Designer
Craig C. Thompson
Ensemble
Rebekah Ward-Hays
Edna
Rebekah is honored to be an ensemble member with BSTC. Her first production with the company was the title role in the world-premier production Denise Druczweski's Inferno–which garnered the cast and crew Critic's Choice in the Reader and Rebekah an invitation to join BackStage. After that she was delighted to be a part of the Jeff-Recommended adventure, Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, where she received her first Jeff Citation for Principal Actress in a Leading Role as Sabina. Her next production with us was as Charlie in the summer hit Zombies from the Beyond. Rebekah played Edna in BSTC's Jeff-Recommended revival of Clifford Odet's Waiting for Lefty, and Catherine in Shelagh Stephenson's The Memory of Water. In addition to BackStage, she has worked with numerous Chicago theatres, some of which include Court Theatre, Northlight Theater, Remy Bumppo Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, the side project, Serendipity Theatre, and Collaboraction. She is an Oak Park resident and wife to BSTC ensemble member and designer, Heath Hays, and a mother to three lovely felines, which will suffice in terms of children (for now).
Kerith Wolf
Costume Designer
Seth Zurer
Dr. Benjamin
Seth has been in the Backstage ensemble since 2004 and served as Company Manager from 2005–2008. Backstage performance credits include Dr. Benjamin in Waiting for Lefty, the Tutor in Medea, the Stage Manager in Skin of our Teeth, and Edgar "Taffy" Evans in Terra Nova. He is especially proud of his work as co-creator and performer in The Mayor's Mouth, a live theatrical cooking show that chronicles the recent political history of Chicago through the recipes of its last six mayors.
Andy Baldeschwiler - Joe
Robert Dennison - Ensemble
Robert Fagin - Ensemble
Doug Frank - Ensemble
Lawrence Garner - Ensemble
Scott Graham - Ensemble
Ryan Hall - Ensemble
Michael Hallahan - Ensemble
Heath Hays - Scenic/Props Designer
Mark Howard - Ensemble
Jason Kae - Director
Ben Kass - Ensemble
Matt Roth - Lighting Designer
Jeffrey Taylor
Craig C. Thompson - Ensemble
Kerith Wolf - Costume Designer
Frank Zito - Ensemble
