Theatre News Wire

American Blues Theater (ABT), Chicago's second oldest Equity ensemble, proudly kicks off its 2011-2012 season honoring the American worker with Clifford Odets' classic one-act play "Waiting for Lefty" directed by Kimberly Senior Sept. 2 - Oct. 2. In addition, ABT will debut a new staged reading program of 10-minute scripts written and directed by various Chicago artists as part of its "Ripped: The Living Newspaper Project" Friday nights, immediately following performances of "Waiting for Lefty" on Sept. 16, 23, 30. 

"ABT honors the American working man and woman with this emotionally powerful mix of classic and contemporary stories," says Wendy Whiteside, ABT producing artistic director. "Odets' classic one-act 'Waiting for Lefty' resonates as strongly as ever. As for 'Ripped: The Living Newspaper Project:' ABT has been cultivating short-plays for this project since 2009. Our staged readings have been developed for this fall's stagings with the help of our co-producers Piven Theatre Workshop, and a development grant by the University of Chicago."

"Waiting for Lefty," inspired by the New York taxi strike of 1934 and first staged by the Group Theater in 1935, features powerful vignettes that offer a timeless treatise on societal inequities. "We've been kicked around so long we're black and blue from head to toes," opines a Depression-era American working stiff in Odets' masterpiece. The New York Times hailed the 1935 staging as "soundly constructed and fiercely dramatic," and The Los Angeles Times reviewing a September 2010 staging deemed "Waiting for Lefty" "a paean to Everyman virtues without sounding phony or sentimental... undeniably relevant."

The cast of "Waiting for Lefty" will feature ABT Ensemble members Sarah Burnham (Chorus),John Byrnes (Fayette), Cheryl Graeff (Dr. Benjamin), John Mohrlein (Dr. Barnes), Suzanne Petri (Stenographer) andGwendolyn Whiteside (Florrie); Artistic AffiliatesManny Buckly (Philips) and Warren Levon (Agate); with guest artistsRinska Carrasco (Edna), Derek Gaspar (Joe), Terry Hamilton (Fatt/Grady), Zachary Kenney (Sid), Bradford Lund (Irving), Mechelle Moe (Miller) and Andrew Swanson (Clayton).

Design staff includes Jack Magaw (scenic design), Elizabeth Flauto and Samantha Jones (costume design), Heather Gilbert (lighting design), Toy Delorio (sound design), Chris Rickett (fight choreographer) and ABT Ensemble member Sarah Burnham (properties design). Dramaturg is Kelli Marino. Stage manager is Jonathan Nook.

Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 5 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. All performances will take place at Victory Gardens' Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Given the Ensemble's mission and the play's theme, ABT is keeping the ticket price affordable for Chicagolands' workers. Tickets for previews (Sept. 2 - 4) are $15; post-opening tickets will be $25. Each performance will honor a union and offer their members a discounted ticket price. For more information visit americanbluestheatre.com.