Great Performances

Paradise Lost is a drama by Clifford Odets that takes place during the Depression. The play was originally produced on Broadway by the Group Theatre in 1935. It was also filmed for television broadcast in 1971. The play takes place in an unnamed American city during the Depression: act one on Armistice Day in 1932, act two in March 1934, and act three in April 1935. Odets said of Paradise Lost that he'd hoped that after people see it, "they're going to be glad they're alive."

A young Irish ward boss has a chance to be elected mayor, but the disgraced current mayor makes sure the candidate's wife learns about his affair with a just-deceased rich girl.