Lynn Nottage is an African American playwright who has written a dozen plays, two of which won her the Pulitzer Prize for drama- “Ruined” in 2009 and “Sweat” in 2017. Last year, The Arden presented her play “Clydes,” which originally premiered on Broadway in 2021. Now on their stage is an earlier play by Nottage, “Intimate Apparel,” which is based on the life of her great-grandmother, a seamstress, on the lower East Side of New York in 1905.
This play is not about New York or about the garment industry. It is about Esther, a single, 35-year-old woman, living in a rooming house since she arrived in the city almost two decades before, after her mother had died. It is about her insecurities. It is about her friendships- with her landlady, with her friend who is a prostitute, with a white woman she sews for, and with an Orthodox Jew from whom she buys fabrics. It is also about the man she writes to in Panama who she becomes involved with. It is a powerful story, with six extraordinary actors that could occur in any locale in any era with almost any race, and I loved every minute.
There is so much substance in Nottage’s play as we watch Esther (Brandi Porter) try to figure out what to do with her life as she turns out exquisite garments on her sewing machine. She aches for romance yet feels unattractive in her mid 30’s. She has lively conversations with Mayme (Jessica Johnson), her prostitute friend who lives a most interesting life as she both listens and tries to give advice to Esther. And Esther hears as her landlady Mrs. Dickson (Zuhairah) tells her about how she married an older man who gave her security but was always cavorting with other women before he died. Even Mrs. Van Buren (Juliana Zinkel), the white woman who helps her read, then compose letters to George (the guy in Panama) because Esther can’t read, shares with her the story of her frustrating marriage to a guy who cheats on her.
Then, there is Mr. Marks (David Pica), the Orthodox Jew, who she visits to buy material to sew. You can see the attraction, though they never even touch. He is waiting for his future bride to arrive from Romania for their arranged marriage. It is all so complex while it is also so very basic as we watch Esther listen and try to weigh the possibilities with George (Akeem Davis), who wants to come to America to be with her. This is all in the first act, and we are entranced as we watch.
The stories continue as Esther tries to find her way. I would be giving away too much of it if I told more in this finely crafted work. Everyone in the cast is outstanding. Director Amina Robinson has done an extraordinary job in bringing together this tale about the struggles of life faced by a single, African American woman in New York at the beginning of the 20th century.
“Intimate Apparel” by Lynn Nottage at Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. 215-922-11222 ardentheatre.org extended thru December 8, 2024
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 