Waiting for Lefty is a story about a taxi labor union, their debate of whether or not to strike, and how it affects the lives of people involved. Odets wrote about the society he lived in; the year was 1935 and labor union strikes were not uncommon. Its first production is remembered for its rare interaction between audience and actors. As the play ended, the audience stood and yelled, “Strike!” right along with the actors.
In the scene, Edna and Joe have just lost all of their furniture because of failure to pay installments. Edna is then faced with the difficult task of inspiring her husband to strike for better money. Plays such as Waiting for Lefty were created specifically to showcase Method acting and were, therefore, usually highly emotional. In this case, the actors had to learn to deal with the intensely emotional situation that surrounded their characters.