Waiting for Lefty
Waiting for Lefty is comprised of seven different vignettes with a reoccurring background of a strike meeting. ... In the end of the scene, Odet leaves us wondering: where and who is Lefty? Lefty is an obvious nickname for a left-wing symbol, and the workers seem unwilling or afraid to act unless this courageous radical shows up and lends his support. As with Samuel Becketts 1952 existentialist tragicomedy "Waiting for Godot," the other characters are, at this point, utterly dependent on this god-like figure. Odetss dramatic hook is in exploring whether the workers will remain this way and similarly suffer the fates of Becketts endless and passively waiting Vladimir and Estragon. ... He tells them not to wait for Lefty, who may never arrive. A man runs into the house and says they just found Lefty, shot and dead. ... In Waiting for Lefty, the taxi drivers never leave the stage (they sometimes even sat with the audience which allows the audience to see that the characters are no different from the audience); the vignettes occur simply with blackouts, and the drivers always remain dimly visible in the background, sometimes even chiming in with other scenes. ... Waiting for Lefty shows, in Odet’s mind, the ill effects of capitalism, and the ways the common man can combat them.