Waiting for Lefty Photos:

AMERICAN BLUES THEATER presents

WAITING FOR LEFTY

by Clifford Odets
directed by Kimberly Senior

SEPTEMBER 2 – OCTOBER 2, 2011
Previews September 2-4
Opening September 8, 7pm
Richard Christiansen Theater

www.americanbluestheater.com

“Enveloping, powerfully acted, and emotional production. Formidable performances…a most interesting hour.”

- Chris Jones, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“Waiting For Lefty might well have you exiting the [theater] with your fist in the air and a plan for action in your heart. Talk about catharsis!”

- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

“American Blues Theater strikes gold with Waiting For Lefty. The performances are uniformly excellent, the pacing impeccable, and the emotional heart of the play right out there on its sleeve.”

- Kelly Kleiman, WBEZ”

Inspired by the New York taxi strike of 1934 and first staged by the Group Theater in 1935, these powerful vignettes offer a treatise on societal inequities. “We’ve been kicked around so long we’re black and blue from head to toes.” The Los Angeles Times calls WAITING FOR LEFTY “undeniably relevant” and the New York Times hails it as “fiercely dramatic.”

PERFORMERS
Manny Buckley*, Sarah Burnham*, John Byrnes, Rinksa Carrasco, Derek Gaspar, Cheryl Graeff*, Terry Hamilton, Zachary Kenney, Warren Levon*, Bradford Lund, Mechelle Moe, John Mohrlein*, Suzanne Petri*, Andrew Swanson, and Gwendolyn Whiteside*.

PRODUCTION
Kimberly Senior (director), Jonathan Nook (stage management), Jack Magaw (scenic design), Heather Gilbert (lighting design), Samantha C. Jones* & Elizabeth Flauto (costume design), Victoria DeIorio (sound design), Sarah Burnham* (properties design), Chris Rickett (fight director), Kelli Marino* (dramaturg), Kayla Anderson (assistant director), and Kortney Kwong Hing (assistant dramaturg).

*American Blues Theater Ensemble member or Artistic Affiliate

OUTREACH
ABT partners with the Chicago Federation of Labor, Illinois Labor History Society, and Urban Gateways. Each performance honors a Chicago union. For a complete list, please visit www.americanbluestheater.com. ABT continues our “Pink Previews” by donating proceeds from Preview performances to The Lynn Sage Foundation.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS
Sunday, Sept. 11 TOWN HALL: “Odets & WPA”
Sunday, Sept. 18 TOWN HALL: “Artists & Unions”
Sunday, Sept. 25 TOWN HALL: “Labor History in Chicago”
Sunday, Oct. 2 TOWN HALL: “Union Relevancy Now” debate
For guest speakers, please see www.americanbluestheater.com