Intimate Apparel

By Lynn Nottage

Directed by Tasia A. Jones

Jul 17 - Oct 9, 2021

Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre

Esther is a single African-American woman in early 1900s Manhattan who has sewn her way out of poverty stitch by stitch, creating fine lingerie for her wealthy clientele. But she is alone and cautiously exchanging love letters with a Panama Canal laborer on his way to New York, despite mutual tender affections with her Jewish cloth merchant. This warm, heart-rending play gently weaves an intricate tapestry of our human need for intimacy while exploring social divisions of race, religion, equality, and class.

Content Advisory

This play sensitively explores various prejudices and adult issues. As the characters search for affection and meaning in their lives, they discuss such topics as sexual intimacy, racism, classism, and sexism. The main character in the play makes her living sewing beautiful ladies' undergarments, and in some scenes the women appear in her elegant creations. With appropriate preparation before the play, Intimate Apparel is appropriate for all except pre-teens.