Intimate Apparel
Set in New York City in 1905, Esther, a Black seamstress, who lives in a boarding house for women, sewed fine lingerie for her Manhattan patrons. As a result, she has built up a significant clientele ranging from wealthy white customers to prostitutes through her intimate apparel. The success of her business allows her to save a considerable sum of money hidden in a quilt, hoping to one day open her own beauty parlor for black women.
But Esther, who is in her thirties and never married, and longing for love, gets a strange letter from an unknown man through a mutual acquaintance. The gentleman romantically sending courtship letters to her is named George Armstrong, a Caribbean man working on the Panama Canal. But before she can cement the relationship, she has to settle her affections for a Jewish fabric merchant, whose passionate love for exquisite fabric brings them together. They both feel an intimate fondness; however, interracial relationships are forbidden, so Esther focuses on George.
Esther, illiterate, asks one of her customers, Mrs. Van Buren, to write a reply to George. Wanting to help Esther, she flirtatiously describes Esther, exaggerating her purpose for wanting to write George. Through his engaging letters, George captures Esther's heart, and as she writes him, we learn that both have embellished made-up narratives to create a more glamorous and enticing image of their lives. Over time, the letters become more intimate, persuading George to request Esther's hand in marriage, even though they have never met. Esther joyously accepts, but this union filled with lies instantly begins to crumble.
W. E. B. DuBois, who became a co-author of Bulletin no. 8, Negroes in the United States, showed that during the 1900s, there were over 1030 negro occupations of a dressmaker in New York, with over 15,610 in the U.S. per revised 1900 U.S. Census.
Northlight Theatre presents Intimate Apparel by two-time Pultizer Prize winner, playwright Lynn Nottage. Nottage, who wrote the libretto for M.J. on Broadway (which we saw in N.Y.), creates another inspiring play that is moving and compelling. Inspired by a photo of an unidentified Negro seamstress, Nottage created a historical portrait of Esther that centuries of black women would be the pride of her story. Nottage is joined by a professional director, actor, and theatre educator, Tasia A Jones. Jones recants that Intimate Apparel gives homage to Nottage's great-grandmother and acknowledges and honors hard-working women that otherwise lost in a pile. Jones does an excellent job directing Intimate Apparel, bringing life to Nottage's words.
“Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel masterfully tells a riveting story of how love can be the fabric which can hurt and heal the soul. ”
The original cast, returning from the pandemic, features Rashada Dawan, Yao Dogbe, Sean Fortunato, Rebecca Spence (making her debut), and the amazingly talented Tony Award nominee Felicia P. Fields. Dogbe will play the role of George until May 1st. After that, Al'Jaleel McGhee, who is just ending his performance at Northlight's Fireflies, will assume the role on May 3rd. The audience at Northlight is well aware of his talent, and we do not doubt that this Chicago-born actor will be sensational as George. Sean Fortunato quietly does an excellent performance as Mr. Marks.
Mildred Maria Langford's performance as Esther is so persuasive, dynamic, and engaging that she draws the audience into her every spoken word. The play's visual description of Esther is a plain, unattractive woman with low self-esteem, a hard-working Christian woman with talented hands for sewing. But Esther, who had worked since her teens ("God kissed my hands when I pulled the fabric through the sewing machine"), is a product of the American dream. Work hard, and one day, you can have your own business, something she could obtain in a black community, where whites typically won't purchase.
Langford came off a very successful theatre run at Gunshot Medley: Part 1 by Dionna Michelle Daniel. She received an Ovation Award Nomination for Lead Actress and returned to Northlight after A Civil War Christmas. Her simple purity, elegance, and grace helped you see Esther, feel her pain, and ultimately witness her determination to succeed.
We learn about George's problems with securing employment due to his race and borrowing money from Esther continuously during the final scene. She knows he has begun an illicit relationship with a prostitute and tries to win his love by sewing him an expensive Japanese smoking jacket and surprising him with her sexy intimate apparel lingerie. Still, George only seeks Esther's money to purchase a group of Stallion horses from a man he claims needs cash quickly to pay off a debt. Trying to save her marriage, she gives Geroge all of her savings, hoping her faith in him will make him love her.
Instead, George spends Esther's savings on gambling, losing it all. She is wounded when George doesn't return, and with her spirit broken by his betrayal, Esther returns to Mrs. Dickson's boarding house. Determined not to allow George to destroy her will, she returns to the gift God's provided her, as a seamstress making intimate apparel, but now the dream includes a special gift of new life that's nine months away.
Intimate Apparel has a similar storyline of deception and lies, and it starts a little slow. Still, Nottage's brilliant writing of the characters in this play is vividly captivating, bringing the story to life.
Let's Play Theatrical Review Recommends Intimate Apparel at Northlight Theatre.
Northlight Theatre
Intimate Apparel
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Tasia A. Jones
APRIL 14 - MAY 15, 2022
