Teachers and parents! Saturday-Sunday February 25 & 26 at 2pm . Struggling with distance learning? Superlatively acted Leanne Best, Martha Plimpton and Clare Perkins in Sweat at Donmar Warehouse, London. You dont want to go down that road, weve got too much history between us. TRACEY: Well, I got you beat by two. This is highlighted by Brucie, who experienced a similar situation at a different mill. The trade union goes on strike, and company management locks out the workers. Alumni, Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics, Theatre Department Performance: SWEAT by Lynn Nottage. In a sense, Reading represents a broader diminishment of the American middle class, a sector of the population whose once-reliable sources of worksuch as in factories and millshave been in decline in recent years. Nottage chose the Rust Belt town of Reading, Pennsylvania, because at the time of the plays composition, Reading was the poorest town of its size in the United States. The bartender is Stan, who used to work at the factory with them until he suffered an injury. They are released in 2008. In a world deemed as free, there are still so many disparities within that statement. Free shipping for many products! [4] The play was produced off-Broadway in 2016, and on-Broadway in 2017. The resonance and relevance is immediate, as we rehearsed throughout what has come to be called Striketober 2021. Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, "Pulitzer Prize winner on 'Sweat,' her Broadway play about Trump's America: 'Being poor is one of the hardest jobs in the world', "Who are these Trump voters? Mainly the women in her family who were teachers, activists, and artists. "[9], The play's political context has also been noted. Stay abreast of discount offers for great theater, on Broadway or in select cities. Jason and Chris are Tracey and Cynthias sons respectively. They are best friends and joke around together. Tell me about whats been going on. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Tracey talks about an upcoming promotion at work and how there is a rumor that they want to promote someone from the floor to a manager position. But when characters begin to distance themselves from the status quo and pursue different opportunities, these relationships gradually disintegrate as those left behind feel resentful of their friends new paths. [25], The play won the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting for the production at the Public Theater. This section contains 1,616 words (approx. Behind the plays portrayal of the damage done to individual lives by what Nottage calls the American de-industrial revolution lies a wider picture of collapsing hopes and corporate ruthlessness. Pietz portrays Jessie as a lonely woman hiding in a glass of alcohol. Sweat switches between 2000 and 2008 as Lynn Nottage tells the story of a group of friends who work together on the factory floor. The City University of New York It closed on December 18, 2016 to transfer to Broadway. 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. Human Development News|Languages and Literatures News|Philosophy News|Political Science News Students Thats all I need to know. After what went down. The second is the date of She . However below, subsequent to you visit this web page, it will be thus enormously easy to acquire as without diculty as download . Martha Plimpton as Tracey and Clare Perkins as Cynthia suggest a lifetime of friendship, tragically sundered; Patrick Gibson and Osy Ikhile show the heavy prices paid by their respective offspring; and Stuart McQuarrie as the pacifying bartender and Leanne Best as a boozy dreamer reveal how everyone is blighted by a company towns decline. They both are arrested for assault and are released eight years later. Nottage addresses the theme of social status, specifically in how the characters lives and relationships are shaped based on job position, socio-economic class, and education. Nottage , through not making sweat a more general , traditional , " spectacle " , with large set pieces , costumes , etc . "Sweat - Themes" eNotes Publishing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), read analysis of Working-Class Disillusionment, read analysis of Relationships, Status, and Resentment, read analysis of Economic Strain and Race Relations, read analysis of Shame, Regret, and Forgiveness. During the play Cynthia applies for a managing job at the plant which causes some problems. They are getting out of jail after a conflict they were both involved in. Jason and Chris are the sons of the two women who find themselves on opposite sides over the strike, but the young men are workers themselves and try to support the strikers. 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. 30 December 2016. The discrimination towards Oscar and others throughout the play stuck out to me because it is hard to see people who work so hard get torn down due to their heritage. Management wants to cut wages, and the union will have to vote to accept the concessions or go on strike. They get tax breaks or something. The bartender in the play is Stan. Tickets, which are $12 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students, may be purchased through the Moss Arts Center ticket office in person or online. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. We're friends! Both Cynthia and her loved ones feel hurt and misunderstood, further demonstrating the tendency for inequality in status to break apart relationships. 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. Moving up the corporate ladder results in a loss of friendships and social exclusion. [4] It also suggested that the play was reminiscent of the "working-class naturalism" of Clifford Odets, a playwright of the 1930s. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. After the lockout goes forward, Cynthias friendship with Tracey completely disintegratesand when the play jumps forward from 2000 to 2008, its revealed that theyve never reconciled. Their whole lives have been on the factory line. Portia is stiff as Cynthia, talking at the characters instead of speaking her peace. Jason finds that Tracey has a significant pill addiction. Ed. The kind but stalwart officer (Kevin T. Carroll) hopes a reunion between the two will help heal their wounds. They also work at the plant, although Chris talks about going to college. Our Essay Lab can help you tackle any essay assignment within seconds, whether youre studying Macbeth or the American Revolution. The play alternates between the same characters in 2000 and 2008, a plot structure that allows the audience to see how these choice pan out over timeand the shame and guilt that characters feel in response to their actions, even eight years later. As mentioned earlier , when Nottage does use aspects of spectacle , it emphasizes these themes further , aspects like lighting . Reviews focused on the similarities between the portrayal 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. [] I betcha they wanted a minority. The play thus shows how changes in statusbeing promoted at work, reaching a higher socioeconomic class, or pursuing higher educationcan create tension and resentment among people who are all struggling to make ends meet, driving a wedge between even the closest of friends. Stan, a middle-aged white man with a limp, bartends, and when the two women invite him to dance with them, he refuses. You got a problem, you tell me to my face. This leads to a confrontation with Jason, egged on by his mother. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. The management/worker division begins to separate the friends, and racial tensions separate them further. To combat this constant strain and underappreciation, the members of Readings working-class community depend upon tight-knit relationships with one another as a means of stress relief, support, and fulfillment. Try it today! They both work at the factory and worry that they will be laid off. Lead the Pack", How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sweat_(play)&oldid=1127802853, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from May 2022, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from May 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 December 2022, at 19:00. She loves to hang out at the bar with her friends and she has a gruff kind of humor. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Beyond that, however, Mara doesn't project the character's humanity, which leads a character meant to propel the story to instead fall flat. Sweat I really feel is the American story. Found a perfect sample but need a unique one? CHRIS: Cmon. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, close friends whove shared many adventures, (Points to the skin on the back of her hand). I feel that its a common problem in our society to portray immigrants as needy and that they get special treatment for their race. He used to work at the plant but he was injured from a factory accident. Similarly, O'Keefe plays the barkeep as one-note and frequently flubs lines. You hear from the old gang? The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts will present Lynn Nottages award-winning Sweat for eight performances, opening on Nov. 9 in Squires Studio Theatre. I dont think you get it, but if I walk away, Im giving up more than a job, Im giving up all that time I spent standing on line waiting for one damn opportunity. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The action takes place in a fictional bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. 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. [16] The production transferred to the West End's Guielgud Theatre, running from 7 June 2019 to 20 July. She believes that their city was founded by her German ancestors and that Olsteads was not for people like them. Tickets will be available at the door in the Squires Student Center beginning one hour prior to the performance. The second date is today's The ramifications of humanity's anger hangs over the play, yet Nottage hints at the power of forgiveness and redemption. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. 2023 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Jason, in particular, is notably altered by his time in prison, where he becomes a white supremacist. TRACEY: [] I know the floor as good as Cynthia. . It opened my eyes that racial slurs used in this production are still used today, and I believe that should've scared anyone in the audience. We dont really. Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, 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. The play opens in 2008, and we meet Jason and Chris as they individually speak to their parole officer, Evan. Do you know what its like, she asks, to get up and have no place to go? For the equally tough Cynthia, work is a means of advancement and her union card is a symbol of racial acceptance. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2017. Management is for them. 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%. Sweat charts the connection between the broader economic trends that animate and shape American society and the lives of individual Americans who are affected by those trends. 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. Virtual Tour Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. eNotes Editorial. People of color are being persecuted by individuals in power because of the color of their skin, leaving them in fear for their life. Print Word PDF. Characters are saddened and enraged in the face of wage cuts, and conflicts erupt between them as they struggle to navigate their lives in the face of diminishing opportunities. Sweat, Lynn Nottage's play about discrimination at the workplace and the effect of economic downturns, returns to Philadelphia, courtesy of the Old Academy Players. 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. Personally, this part of the play resonated with my feelings towards the racial violence we experience today. Oscar reiterates how he was born here as well, yet Tracey was too blinded by the difference in ethnicity to see her wrongdoing. 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