Looking Up at Down:
Staged Readings of Two Plays Responding to the Depression of the 1930s,
February 18-28, 2010

 

For more information and to buy tickets, see the UW School of Drama website.

In response to the current economic crisis, the University of Washington School of Drama reflects on 1930s American Drama by presenting staged readings of two very different perspectives of the Great Depression.

Clifford Odets’ gritty and energetic depiction of a taxi workers strike, Waiting for Lefty, has become an iconic expression of the era.

S.N. Behrman’s play End of Summer, in contrast, was described by New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson as “. . . (a) comedy of inherited wealth under fire.”  Together, the plays present a spectrum of the marxist idea that “economic relationships determine all other relationships.”

Play Information and tickets

Here are descriptions and background information about each play and links to ticket information.

"Waiting for Lefty": the play and its history
By Clifford Odets
Directed by Andrew Tsao
February 18-20, 7:30 pm; February 21, 2:00 pm
Tickets

"End of Summer": the play and its history
By S.N. Behrman
Directed by Mark Jenkins
February 25-27, 7:30 pm; February 28, 2:00 pm
Tickets

The Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse | 4045 University Way NE

For more information and to buy tickets, see the UW School of Drama website.

Join us for an opening night panel discussion of arts, politics, theatre, and reform during the Great Depression, Thursday February 18 at 7:30pm.