In spite of these drawbacks, for the most part the material chosen was timely and effectively dramatized. The energy of the presentations seemed to infect the largely sympathetic audience. The evening's finale, which was accompanied by enthusiastic, rhythmic handclapping by the audience, was a song called "Solidarity Forever Rock," sung to the tune of the rock 'n roll song "Locomotion." It seemed to be a light-hearted self-parody of the radical leftist style. Yet troupe members assured me afterwards that they were in total earnest:
Everybody's doing a brand new dance now
Come on comrades, do the liberation
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
Come on comrades, do the liberation
Don't let the oppressors ever get control
Reactionary rhythm is bad for your soul
So come on, come on, do the liberation with me
There's never been a dance that's so important to do
It helps to set us free and other people too
So come on, come on, do the liberation with me
They belted it out, as if liberating the world were in fact as easy as learning a new dance.