themes in sweat by lynn nottage
Carroll, in his few scenes as the parole officer, conveys the father figure both boys need to rehabilitate. This change proves to be an advantage for Cynthia professionally, but a disadvantage personally. The sheer amount of time that characters spend together in the lived-in and comfortable bar after work emphasizes just how important a similar sense of familiarity and comfort is in their relationships with one another. The action takes place in a fictional bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. date the date you are citing the material. The City University of New York If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original This is shown in many of the bar scenes. CYNTHIA: Ive stood on that line, same line since I was nineteen. Sweat challenged my thinking and led me to analyze serious problems that still have not been solved. Award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage often shines a spotlight on Black women under great duress, as in "Ruined," a Pulitzer Prize winner, or in the workplace like the evocative turn of the . ', 'Come From Away', and 'Anastasia' Lead 2017 Drama Desk Award Nominations", "2017 Tony Award Nominations: 'The Great Comet' and 'Hello, Dolly!' The play portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood friends and had worked in the same factory. I hope that they will ask really tough conversations, not just of themselves but of the legislators and the people who are in power, she said. Oscar shows her a flyer from the community center, written in Spanish, that mentions the openings and says nothing about needing to be in the union. All rights reserved. Complimentary and Deeply Discounted Shows. The play portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood . An immediate divide is created between Cynthia and her friends. Word Count: 508. [7][11], After starting previews on October 18, 2016, Sweat opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on November 3, 2016. Academic Policies Nottage researched her work in Reading and while there, gathered material for her play Clyde's, now extended through March 12 at Arden Theatre Co. Log in here. The play opens in 2008, and we meet Jason and Chris as they individually speak to their parole officer, Evan. Donmar Warehouse, LondonBased on interviews with residents of small-town Pennsylvania, Lynn Nottages play vividly describes the betrayal and resentments of striking female factory workers in an era of industrial decline. Nottage said her dream is that audience members, after seeing the play, will be inspired to sit down and talk to someone with whom theyve never had a conversation. Saturday-Sunday February 25 & 26 at 2pm . [1] It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This showed me how the production was truly pointing out the racism that lies in our economy still today, whether its the advantages white men hold or the wages gaps between races and genders. Alas, its high production values can only do so much to hide the fact that Sweat leaves the audience feeling more like they've watched an extended soapbox speech rather than having spent time in the flesh-and-blood lives of its characters. I feel that its a common problem in our society to portray immigrants as needy and that they get special treatment for their race. However, several close relationships are challenged as characters try to pursue new opportunities and escape the very circumstance over which they bond with others. The creative elements of the production fare better, with Christopher Barreca's set taking audiences to the neighborhood bar so one can almost smell the stale beer on the floor. There are a group of friends that work for the steel factory. Everyone tries to stay positive, but as the strike goes on, they begin to get desperate. This revealed that the play was not just about economic stress and angry intoxicated individuals, instead, it was about the extreme violence there is towards people of color. Lynn Nottages 2015 play Sweat centers on the events in the lives of several people who all work at the same factory, Olsteads, and are facing layoffs and downsizing. If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original Oscar now works there as the manager, and he takes care of Stan, who we find out has suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the fight. Link to iframe content: https://www.youtube.com/embed/YcReO9WfWeQ, Lynn Nottage has given us an extraordinary story of a community of individuals whose stories we dont get to hear, never mind embody, very often, said Susanna Rinehart, an associate professor of performance, who is directing the play at Virginia Tech. date the date you are citing the material. CYNTHIA: [] You know after everything. I don't want this to be a big deal. Already a member? Superlatively acted Leanne Best, Martha Plimpton and Clare Perkins in Sweat at Donmar Warehouse, London. 2023