"People’s Theatre specialized in realistic, contemporary productions, many of which had a political bent. During the Depression, they’d become world renowned for a musical about the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory fire, starring real-life survivors of the accident instead of actors. Many of their productions had been endorsed by labor unions while being defamed as subversive and reckless by local politicians. The photos from the shows told of gritty, realistic sets and actors made human by uncombed hair, smudges of dirt, torn costumes, and stark lighting. Had they not been identified as pictures from plays, I would’ve thought all the images were Life magazine portraits of people pushed to their limits so those of us safe in our living rooms could humanize the tales we read in our papers."