Sweat (play)

Sweat is a 2015 play by Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright Lynn Nottage.[1] It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[2] The play premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015 and subsequently was produced Off-Broadway in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017. The play is centered on the working class of Reading, Pennsylvania.

Background

Lynn Nottage began working on the play in 2011 by interviewing 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%.[4] Nottage was particularly influenced by a New York Times article reporting on the city specifically, and by the Occupy Wall Street movement more generally. She particularly examined the loss of heavy industry and a changing ethnic composition,[5] and has compared her time talking to steelworkers in Reading with the occasion she stayed in the town of Mansfield in the English Midlands during the 1984 miners' strike.[5]

Plot

The play portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood friends working in the same factory.[1] The action takes place in a fictional bar in Reading, Pennsylvania,[6] a town described as "synonymous with deindustrialisation".[7] Switching scenes with events of eight years earlier, Nottage shows how events take individuals on divergent pathways,[6] to a backdrop of job cuts, poverty, and downsizing, with none of the characters except the barman realising what is at stake. Variety quotes him as warning them that "You could wake up tomorrow and all your jobs are in Mexico", to which the characters respond with lethargy and disbelief. Variety described Nottage as going into "the heart of working-class America".[8] The characters have been described as being blue-collar workers who voted in Donald Trump as President.[3]

The play also examines the disintegration of a friendship; two of the women – one white, one black – apply for the same management job. The latter character gets the position, but soon, when the company does indeed move jobs to Mexico, and the trade union goes on strike, the workers are locked out. The management/worker division begins to separate the friends, and racial tensions separate them further.[6]

Critical reception

The play has been described as "a powerful and emotional look at identity, race, economy and humanity."[9]

The play's political context has also been noted, particularly focusing on the similarities between the description of the industrial working class in a Rust Belt town, and that being a significant area and demographic in the 2016 United States presidential election;[9] indeed, the Wall Street Journal suggested the play even "explained" Trump's win.[7] It has been described as "the first theatrical landmark of the Trump era",[4] with open comparisons of the characters being drawn with Trump's phrase "the forgotten people".[1]

The play has been described as reminiscent of the "working-class naturalism" of Clifford Odets.[4]

Production history

Sweat was first performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015 before playing at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.[6][10]

After starting previews on October 18, 2016, Sweat opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on November 3, 2016, before closing on December 18, 2016 for a Broadway transfer. 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).[8][11] The production began previews at Studio 54 on March 4, 2017, before opening on March 26.[12]

Awards and nominations

The play was nominated for the 2017 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Play and Outstanding Fight Choreography.[13]

The play won the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting for its run at the Public Theater.[14]

Sweat received three 2017 Tony Award nominations: Best Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for both Johanna Day and Michelle Wilson.[15]

The play won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fottrell, Quentin. "Pulitzer Prize winner on 'Sweat,' her Broadway play about Trump's America: 'Being poor is one of the hardest jobs in the world'".
  2. 1 2 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners and Nominees, The Pulitzer Prizes, 2017, retrieved 10 April 2017
  3. 1 2 "Who are these Trump voters? For a thoughtful portrait, turn to playwright Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat'". 9 November 2016 – via Los Angeles Times.
  4. 1 2 3 "The First Theatrical Landmark of the Trump Era".
  5. 1 2 Smith, David (17 February 2016). "Lynn Nottage: 'Nostalgia is a disease many white Americans have'". The Guardian.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Isherwood, Charles (16 August 2015). "Review: Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat' Examines Lives Unraveling by Industry's Demise". The New York Times.
  7. 1 2 Teachout, Terry (16 November 2016). "The Play That Explains Trump's Win". The Wall Street Journal.
  8. 1 2 Stasio, Marilyn (4 November 2016). "Off Broadway Review: Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat'".
  9. 1 2 Negley, Erin (23 March 2017). "'Sweat,' Reading-based play by Pulitzer prize winner Lynn Nottage, debuts on Broadway". Lancaster Online. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  10. ↑ Khan, Jessica (August 28, 2015). "Lynn Nottage's SWEAT Headed to The Public Next Year; Broadway on the Horizon?". Broadway World. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Sweat". The Public Theater. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Lynn Nottage's Sweat Will Transfer to Broadway". Broadway.com. December 5, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  13. ↑ McPhee, Ryan. " 'Hello, Dolly!', 'Come From Away', and 'Anastasia' Lead 2017 Drama Desk Award Nominations" Playbill, April 27, 2017
  14. ↑ Obie Awards, 2017 Winners
  15. ↑ Staff. "2017 Tony Award Nominations: 'The Great Comet' and 'Hello, Dolly!' Lead the Pack" Playbill, May 2, 2017


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