Nottage's characters were based on personal research and interviews she conducted in Reading throughout 2011. Management's physical, intellectual, and emotional removal from workers on the factory floor allows them to ultimately outsource their jobs to Mexico (because they have so little connection to the labor that goes into these jobs, or to the human beings working them). This section contains 1,616 words (approx. The action takes place in a fictional bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. She used these substances as coping mechanisms which also led her to say racist comments about her own friend. It closed on December 18, 2016 to transfer to Broadway. Some characters use racial slurs towards Latinos and show him that he isn't welcome in the Olstead factory. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2017. As the play switches back to 2000, we hope to learn what happened between them. Reading, Pennsylvania is an industrial town with an emphasis on blue collar jobs. I do. The sense of personal betrayal is exacerbated when it is left to Cynthia to reveal that the firm plans to ask everyone to take a 60% pay cut to save the plant. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Nottage shifts in time, switching scenes and showing events of eight years earlier. The play, however, takes place pre-Trump. Students It tells the story of Reading, Pennsylvania, but it be could any place, it could be any post-industrial city across the landscape., Your browser does not support iframes. THEMEGUIDE KNOW BEFORE THE SHOW o Playwright Lynn Nottage was born in Brooklyn in 1964 and was educated at Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. [17], The play was nominated for the 2017 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Play and Outstanding Fight Choreography. Lynn Nottages Sweat is a play set in 2000 and 2008 that explores the tension in a group of friends in the midst of layoffs at a factory in Reading, Pennsylvania. Fight director Steve Raskin makes the final confrontation realistic and harrowing. Directed by Kate Whoriskey (who also directed the earlier productions), the cast featured Carlo Alban (Oscar), James Colby (Stan), Khris Davis (Chris), Johanna Day (Tracey), John Earl Jelks (Brucie), Will Pullen (Jason), Miriam Shor (Jessie), Lance Coadie Williams (Evan), and Michelle Wilson (Cynthia). The resonance and relevance is immediate, as we rehearsed throughout what has come to be called Striketober 2021. She has created exactly the ensemble piece she set out to create empathetic, searching, searing, honest, and full of humanity and I found exactly the same qualities in this cast as we have worked together. [25], The play won the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting for the production at the Public Theater. JASON: Shit, I just kinda thought wed retire and open a franchise together. Nottage took a break from writing for nearly seven years, but in 2003, her drama Intimate Apparel, a play about an African American seamstress in turn of the century New York, won major awards including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Francesca Primus Prize and the Steinberg Award. 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 . [10] It said that the city was "synonymous with deindustrialisation", for the effects there of loss of heavy industry and related jobs.[10]. The City University of New York When the plant threatens to cut wages and lay off workers, the friends turn against each other as they struggle to stay afloat. Tracey's attempts to be alluring do not convince Stan, so they stop dancing as. When Chris reveals that hell be leaving Olsteads to study teaching at Albright College, Jason is blindsidedhed hoped to work alongside his best friend for the foreseeable future and to eventually retire and open a business together. Mara plays Tracey as a shrill woman who is looking for others to blame. Nottage began to write the play in 2011 and set its events during two notable economic downturns: the 2000 to 2001 recession following the dot com bubble and the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. Race and class in the workplace: Nottage explores the. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Most of the play takes place in a local bar, where friends like Tracey, Cynthia, and Jessie (a trio of middle-aged women whove all worked at Olsteads Steel Tubing plant for decades) gather to socialize with one another and with the beloved bartender, Stan. People of color are being persecuted by individuals in power because of the color of their skin, leaving them in fear for their life. Tracey and Jessie grow bitter. Youve always been cool. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. The plays setting offers an appropriate stage on which to explore this theme. Stan seems to be the link between Oscar and the others, as the others treat Oscar like an outsider. The trade union goes on strike, and company management locks out the workers. Teachers and parents! Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat, now playing at the Mark Taper Forum, exposes the collapse of the American working class in the new millennium. Sweat. She bitterly tells Oscar, the busboy at the bar, that she know[s] the floor as good as Cynthia does, and Jessie confirms that Cynthias promotion has pissed off a lot of people even though she earned it fairly. date the date you are citing the material. Give to BMCC To get a high-quality original essay, click here. Note: All essays placed on IvyMoose.com are written by students who kindly donate their papers to us. This leads to a confrontation with Jason, egged on by his mother. When backed up against the wall and left with neither income nor hope, people sink into racism almost by reflex. We see how the plant uses ethnicity to divide workers in the case of Oscar, who is Latino. In one of the poorest cities in. Characters such as Jessie use alcohol to cope with their problems to the point of being out of control, which was an important symbol specifically used by Jessica Hightower, Scenic and Properties designer of Sweat. Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. Lynn Nottage began working on the play in 2011 by interviewing numerous residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, which at the time was, according to the United States Census Bureau, officially one of the poorest cities in America,[3] with a poverty rate of over 40%. Management is for them. Centered on the working class of Reading, Pennsylvania, Sweat tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. Our Essay Lab can help you tackle any essay assignment within seconds, whether youre studying Macbeth or the American Revolution. The two men have not seen each other since the events that led to their incarceration. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Lynn Nottage, originally born and raised in Brooklyn, New York produced the award-winning play, Sweat.Lynn Nottage began working on the play in 2011 by interviewing numerous residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, which at the time was, according to the United States Census Bureau, officially one of the poorest cities in America, with a poverty rate of over 40%. Found a perfect sample but need a unique one? In Lynette Lintons production, Frankie Bradshaws impressive design sets the watering hole against a background of rusting girders. Doheny Library: PS3564.O795 S94 2017 o Nottage, Lynn. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sweat [TCG Edition] Good Book 0 paperback at the best online prices at eBay! Tempted by the opportunity to finally work at the factory, where he will receive higher wages than at the bar, Oscar crosses the picket line. She loves to hang out at the bar with her friends and she has a gruff kind of humor. This review of Lynn Nottage's "Sweat," which opened on Broadway Sunday with the same cast, first appeared in November with the opening of the original Public Theater production. Religion and Culture News|Reserve Officer Training Corps News|School of Education News The second is the date of For a thoughtful portrait, turn to playwright Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat', "The First Theatrical Landmark of the Trump Era", "Lynn Nottage: 'Nostalgia is a disease many white Americans have', "Review: Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat' Examines Lives Unraveling by Industry's Demise", "Off Broadway Review: Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat', "Lynn Nottage's SWEAT Headed to The Public Next Year; Broadway on the Horizon? When American playwright and screenwriter Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Sweat in 2017, she became the first and only woman to have won the prize twice, having also won it for Ruined in 2009. To cover up how hurt he is, Jason mocks Chris and tells him hell never succeed in such a low-paying career before asking, But seriously, man, why didn't you tell me? Despite Jasons tough exterior, its clear that hes genuinely upset by Chriss attempts to leave their shared lot in life behind and pursue higher education. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Try it today! Director Lisa Peterson uses television screens to document major world events that led to the collapse of the American factory system, such as the financial crisis and bailout of 2008 and the election of George W. Bush in 2000, so that the audience can travel back to a precarious time not very different from 2018. The BMCC Theatre Department invites you to enjoy the performance of SWEAT by Lynn Nottage, directed by Diane Dowling. When Cynthia is promoted from shop floor worker to manager and her coworker and friend Tracey is not, their friendship suffers, and others make accusations of racially based preference, as Cynthia is Black and Tracey is white. "[9], The play's political context has also been noted. Teachers and parents! The play portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood . The characters in Sweat have spent decades of their lives thanklessly laboring in Reading Pennsylvania's local steel and textile mills amid poor working conditions, disrespectful management, and union disputes. Synopsis for SWEAT: SWEAT is a 2015 play by American playwright Lynn Nottage. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. CYNTHIA: [] I dont deserve the things youve been saying. However below, subsequent to you visit this web page, it will be thus enormously easy to acquire as without diculty as download . This contributed to the story of the play, as we continually see different scenes centered around drinking, especially after work or on stressful days. In the scenes from 2000, before the young men get into trouble, Nottage sets much of the action in a fictional bar in the characters' working-class town of Reading, Pennsylvania, where people who. Although such connections are often indirect, they arise through tangible realities such as corporate downsizing and non-union hiring practices. The acting is superlative. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Virtual Tour Portia is stiff as Cynthia, talking at the characters instead of speaking her peace. You hear from the old gang? This kind of intimate friendship seems to be the norm rather than the exception in Reading: Traceys son Jason and Cynthias son Chris are also best friends who work at Olsteads and who depend on each other for solidarity and camaraderie. Sweat dissects the insidiousness of privilege and entitlement, reminding audiences that there's always someone on a lower plane to blame for your troubles, and there will always be someone who stands to profit from your loss. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. With the opening focused on Chris and Jason, but the bulk of the play resting on their mothers, the audience investment from one set of characters to another feels destabilizing. She believes that their city was founded by her German ancestors and that Olsteads was not for people like them. TRACEY: You want us to feel sorry for you? This website uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. In the world of the play, attempting to raise ones status and transcend ones current situation breeds resentment among the very friends who commiserated with that situation. Oscar, the bus boy at the bar, is Latino and is not acknowledged often by the people who go there. This change proves to be an advantage for Cynthia professionally, but a disadvantage personally. Instant PDF downloads. ", "Lynn Nottage's Sweat Will Transfer to Broadway", "Lynn Nottages 'Sweat' to transfer to West End from Donmar Warehouse", "Olivier Awards 2019: Full list of nominations", "Shortlist for first Black British Theatre Awards 2019 announced", "Maggie Smith wins best actress award for role as Goebbels' secretary", "Lily Allen, Grayson Perry and Danny Boyle join prestigious list of artists hoping to scoop awards as nominations unveiled for The South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2019", "The Stage Debut Awards 2019 winners announced | WhatsOnStage", " 'Hello, Dolly! More vacation. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. Any deadline. (including. At the beginning of 2000, every character is either part of the working class or experiencing the repercussions of union strikes. The management/worker division begins to separate the friends, and racial tensions separate them further. At Donmar Warehouse, London, until 26 January. Who is the antagonist in the play Sweat by Lynn Nottage? Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. You dont want to go down that road, weve got too much history between us. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. I got eyes. One of the major plot points in this ensemble driven piece is Cynthias promotion to management at Olsteads factory. 'Sweat' explores themes of race, gender, ethnicity, class, and labor relations in a deeply human way November 1, 2021 The cast of "Sweat," pictured from left: Elizabeth Crishock, Ariana Pea, and Joseph Steele (front row); Misheck Mzumara, Ashlynn Brooks, Luke Dangel, and Mark Logan (leaning on the bar); Genaro Mejia and Alex Cruz (behind the bar). American Revolution to save highlights and notes design sets the watering hole against a background rusting! Related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and racial tensions separate them further indirect they... 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