For playwright Clifford Odets, the verse "Awake and Sing!" from the Book of Isaiah was a call to action for his blue-collar Depression Era audience to rise above their dismal circumstances. In his first staged play, he inspired downtrodden workers to stand up for their rights in the trenchant Waiting for Lefty;  he then turned to the plight of a struggling family and how they coped with the Depression in his next work, which still resonates decades after its premiere in 1935: Awake and Sing!  This week on L.A. Theatre Works.

With Emily Bergl, Jonathan Hadary, Peter Kybart, Raphael Sbarge, and Peter Smith. Directed by Bartlett Sher, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his 2006 production of Awake and Sing! on Broadway.

The broadcast includes an interview with Bartlett Sher, and a feature on the difficult genesis of Awake and Sing! with historian Ellen Schiff.

For playwright Clifford Odets, the verse "Awake and Sing!" from the Book of Isaiah was a call to action for his blue-collar Depression Era audience to rise above their dismal circumstances. In his first staged play, he inspired downtrodden workers to stand up for their rights in the trenchant Waiting for Lefty;  he then turned to the plight of a struggling family and how they coped with the Depression in his next work, which still resonates decades after its premiere in 1935: Awake and Sing!  This week on L.A. Theatre Works.

With Emily Bergl, Jonathan Hadary, Peter Kybart, Raphael Sbarge, and Peter Smith. Directed by Bartlett Sher, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his 2006 production of Awake and Sing! on Broadway.

The broadcast includes an interview with Bartlett Sher, and a feature on the difficult genesis of Awake and Sing! with historian Ellen Schiff.