Dec 19, 2009

Waiting for Lefty | Critical Overview

Since its opening, Waiting for Lefty has been considered a prime example of the dramatic genre known as agit-prop (and also known as revolutionary theatre and proletarian drama, among other labels). The play is often considered the definitive example of this genre. How one feels about that type—widely popular in its time but unfashionable in recent years—seems to have a great deal to do with one's critical reaction.

Waiting for Lefty's original production in 1935 was a critical success and a popular hit. Reviewing it for the New York Times, Brooks Atkinson...