It’s 1905 in lower Manhattan, where black seamstress Esther (Nedra Snipes) lives in a boarding house for women. We meet her at her sewing machine, where she makes her living creating intimate apparel for women who range from black prostitutes to wealthy white women.
She buys the fabric from Jewish salesman Mr. Marks (Jonathan Fisher Jr.), which she takes home and fashions into the lovely creations she sells to local ladies.
Esther is an excellent seamstress, but she is undereducated (she can’t read) and lonely and doesn’t have much opportunity to socialize. So she is excited when she starts getting letters from an unknown Caribbean man named George Armstrong. She gets Mayne, a friend, to read and respond to them for her.
Will George turn out to be the man of her dreams? That’s the plot of Lynn Nottage’s play “Intimate Apparel,” now onstage in a lovely production through Feb. 4 at North Coast Repertory Theatre.
Jasmine Bracey directs Nottage’s vividly-written play (which is based on her own great-grandmother) with a sure hand and a good feel for dramatic conflict and human sentiment.
All the actors are fine, but my favorites are Snipes’ Esther and Fisher’s Mr. Marks, both trying to take care of the other and leaving us to wonder what would have happened if….
Kudos to the technical people as well. Marty Burnett’s set is almost magical in the changes made as set reflects drama. Elise Benzoni’s costumes are beautiful, as are the swatches of fabric (I want some of them myself!).
Peter Herman’s wigs reflect the time beautifully, and Evan Eason’s sound design is excellent.
This is not a cheery play, but “Intimate Apparel” is a rich and vivid portrait of turn-of-the-century New York that will keep you fascinated the whole time.
The details
“Intimate Apparel” runs through Feb. 4, 2024 at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach.
Performances Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m.
Tickets: (858) 481-1055 or boxoffice@northcoastrep.org
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