Based on interviews with residents of small-town Pennsylvania, Lynn Nottage's play vividly describes the betrayal and resentments of striking female factory workers in an era of industrial decline As a community already steeped in tradition and resistant to outsiders, this downturn causes Readings white working class to become downright hostile toward black and Latinx peopleeven individuals they once called friendsbecause they believe minorities are stealing their jobs away. As the months of 2000 pass, the relationships that create the foundation of Sweat begin to unravel and we come to see the events that led Chris and Jason, two best buds with exuberance for their future, to wind up in prison. This review of Lynn Nottage's "Sweat," which opened on Broadway Sunday with the same cast, first appeared in November with the opening of the original Public Theater production. Tempted by the opportunity to finally work at the factory, where he will receive higher wages than at the bar, Oscar crosses the picket line. Faculty & Staff She loves to hang out at the bar with her friends and she has a gruff kind of humor. The union, there to protect the workers, has become overwhelmed and impotent. 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). TRACEY: Yeah? She has created exactly the ensemble piece she set out to create empathetic, searching, searing, honest, and full of humanity and I found exactly the same qualities in this cast as we have worked together. The resonance and relevance is immediate, as we rehearsed throughout what has come to be called Striketober 2021. Tracey and Cynthia, in particular, are close friends whove shared many adventuresthey console each other, cheer each other on, and encourage each other to stay positive and have fun rather than dwell on the stress of work. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Human Resources [13] The production closed on June 25, 2017, after 105 performances. Lynn Nottage's Sweat was published in 2015 and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2017. The action takes place in a fictional bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. Find additional parking information here. JASON: Shit, I just kinda thought wed retire and open a franchise together. There are many scenarios that lead to this violent event, but I believe they are all significant in showing that, big or small, these racial attacks need to end. But the sense of pride they've had over their work is being stripped away as the company begins to disassemble. Last Updated on October 12, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. The collection contains chapters on each of her major works . What Nottage captures brilliantly is the way work, however hard or demanding, gives people an identity and purpose. Who is the antagonist in the play Sweat by Lynn Nottage? The play portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood . Complimentary and Deeply Discounted Shows. Jason and Chris are Tracey and Cynthias sons respectively. Call me selfish, I dont care, call me whatever you need to call me, but remember, one of us has to be left standing to fight. 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. Variety described Nottage as going into "the heart of working-class America". 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%. There are other minor characters in the plot of the play. The employees work lives and decisions about organizing likewise affect their children. Lynn Nottages Sweat is a play set in 2000 and 2008 that explores the tension in a group of friends in the midst of layoffs at a factory in Reading, Pennsylvania. Nottage said her dream is that audience members, after seeing the play, will be inspired to sit down and talk to someone with whom theyve never had a conversation. publication in traditional print. eNotes.com You can order a custom paper by our expert writers. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2009. Log in here. Dor Arena Theatre at CSUB. 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. Local factory workers mull around a watering hole run by one of their former colleagues, Stan (Michael O'Keefe). Stay abreast of discount offers for great theater, on Broadway or in select cities. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Management's physical, intellectual, and emotional removal from workers on the factory floor allows them to ultimately outsource their jobs to Mexico (because they have so little connection to the labor that goes into these jobs, or to the human beings working them). -Graham S. Below you will find the important quotes in, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Management is for them. However, several close relationships are challenged as characters try to pursue new opportunities and escape the very circumstance over which they bond with others. In the scenes from 2000, before the young men get into trouble, Nottage sets much of the action in a fictional bar in the characters' working-class town of Reading, Pennsylvania, where people who. JASON: [] But seriously, man, why didnt you tell me? Were a team, Jason says of himself and Chris, one of many sentiments that drives home the sacredness of close relationships for the plays struggling working-class laborers. As coming from a Hispanic background and having family members come from Costa Rica to America, scenes centered around Oscar were important to me. Thus, these essays are of lower quality than ones written by experts. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Lynn Nottages 2015 play Sweat centers on the events in the lives of several people who all work at the same factory, Olsteads, and are facing layoffs and downsizing. 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,[3] with a poverty rate of over 40%. Their decades-long friendship ends in a seemingly insurmountable grudge, a heartbreaking reality that drives home the pain, jealousy, and hostility that can come about when one friend feels left behind by another. The bartender is Stan, who used to work at the factory with them until he suffered an injury. Set in the decaying industrial city of . The. CYNTHIA: Fuck her. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SWEAT is a 2015 play by American playwright Lynn Nottage. 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. They all work together and love to hang out at the local bar. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Club members can see a different show every night of the week. Jason finds that Tracey has a significant pill addiction. 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. The amount of original essays that we did for our clients, The amount of original essays that we did for our clients. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. 1 Mar. Ive taken orders from idiots who were dangerous, or even worse, racist. 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. Oscar, the bus boy at the bar, is Latino and is not acknowledged often by the people who go there. Essay Example: What Is The Theme Of Sweat By Lynn Nottage Sweat was a meaningful production as there are many important themes to take away from the story. The characters in Sweat have spent decades of their lives thanklessly laboring in Reading Pennsylvanias local steel and textile mills amid poor working conditions, disrespectful management, and union disputes. In a world deemed as free, there are still so many disparities within that statement. Mara plays Tracey as a shrill woman who is looking for others to blame. They both work at the factory and worry that they will be laid off. Order original paper now and save your time! Be angry, but dont make it about this(Points to the skin on the back of her hand) Look at me, Tracey. Their whole lives have been on the factory line. Mainly the women in her family who were teachers, activists, and artists. Ultimately, Sweat shows the interpersonal costs of raising ones station: when desperate people strive for more out of life, fellow desperate peopleeven, and especially, dear friendswill often respond with resentment rather than support. The BMCC Theatre Department invites you to enjoy the performance of SWEAT by Lynn Nottage, directed by Diane Dowling. The sense of personal betrayal is exacerbated when it is left to Cynthia to reveal that the firm plans to ask everyone to take a 60% pay cut to save the plant. 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. AHRM NewsASPECT News|Awards and Honors|Bookshelf|Communication News|English News|History News Try it today! Jump-start your essay with our outlining tool to make sure you have all the main points of your essay covered. After what went down. The action takes place in a fictional bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. Fred Mazelis. Nov. 912 at 7:30 p.m. Although Cynthia breaks the rules by warning Tracey, Jessie, Chris, and Jason that a lockout is imminent, they begin to see her as a betrayer rather than a trusted member of their inner circle due to her position of authority over them. The play opens in 2008. When the plant threatens to cut wages and lay off workers, the friends turn against each other as they struggle to stay afloat. The volume covers Nottage's plays, productions, activism, and artistic collaborations to display the extraordinary breadth and depth of her work. The play was directed by Lynette Linton, and featured Clare Perkins and Martha Plimpton as the mothers and Osy Ikhile (Chris) and Parick Gibson (Jason). [8] Reviews of the play have described the characters as representing blue-collar workers who voted in Donald Trump as president. [3], The play also examines the disintegration of a friendship, after two of the women one white, one black apply for the same management job. No matter if it was during Jessies birthday celebration, Traceys birthday celebration, or just a casual hangout at Stans bar. By using it, you accept our. A lot of wrong things can be said under the influence, and I believe most of their arguments all began with the abuse of alcohol. Sweat is preceded by an excerpt from Langston Hughess Let America Be America Again, a poem that critiques the false promise of the American Dream and encourages poor and working-class Americans (among other marginalized groups) to rise up and make America againessentially to redeem the oppression theyve faced and the opportunities theyve been cheated out of. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. TRACEY: You want us to feel sorry for you? He learns that the cost of being hired is to become a scab when the others go out on strike. His best friend is Chris, Cynthias son. Sweat is preceded by an excerpt from Langston Hughes's "Let America Be America Again," a poem that critiques the false promise of the American Dream and encourages poor and working-class Americans (among other marginalized groups) to rise up and "make America again"essentially to "redeem" the oppression they've faced and the opportunities In Sweat, Tracey was adamant that Cynthia only got the promotion because she's black and that Oscar could only get a job at the Warehouse out of pity. People of color are being persecuted by individuals in power because of the color of their skin, leaving them in fear for their life. Try it today! All Directory, News Tracey and Jessie grow bitter as their job security is threatened and their wages cut, while their friend Cynthia receives a promotion. Three best friends, Cynthia (Portia), Tracey (Mary Mara), and Jessie (Amy Pietz), pass the time at the bar joking and drinking to obliteration in order to survive the daily grind. Complete your free account to request a guide. This in-person event will take place in BMCC's Theatre II.. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. In light of these background economic trends, the play has a distinctive atmosphere of precarity. Virtual Tour The second is the date of Thats all I need to know. Oscar and his coworker Stan (the bartender at the bar where the characters all hang out) are attacked in a demonstration. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Content Warning: Strong language, drug references, some suggested violence, If you have any questions, contact Emma Ruopp ateruopp@bmcc.cuny.edu, Borough of Manhattan Community College They built the house that I live in. We dont really. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. Tracey, who comes from a family of German craftsmen, is a militant unionist but bereft without employment. There are a group of friends that work for the steel factory. 100% plagiarism free, Orders: 7 Last Updated on October 4, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. The bar itself is symbolic of the friendships that play out within it, as both the place and the relationships it facilitates are safe havens away from the stress of the outside world. [4] The play was produced off-Broadway in 2016, and on-Broadway in 2017. 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. 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. Race and class in the workplace: Nottage explores the. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought, Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management, Department of Human Development and Family Science, Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for European Union, Transatlantic, and Trans-European Space Studies, Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, News Stories on International Initiatives, Sweat explores themes of race, gender, ethnicity, class, and labor relations in a deeply human way, Winning words: Cara Daggett, Thomas Gardner, and Madeline Eberhardt honored with Phi Beta Kappa awards, William Price honored with emeritus status, A career and technical education alumnus reflects on his experiences in the School of Education, School of Education doctoral student receives prestigious internship, The Virginia Tech chapter of Omicron Tau Theta initiates eight new members, Heidi Anne Mesmer helps teachers decode reading instruction, Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Tech supports students with disabilities across the region, School of Communication senior awarded inaugural Tech Sideline Endowed Scholarship, Cybersecurity expert offers safety tips for online holiday shopping, A new map reconstructs the social landscapes of Southwest Virginia prior to European arrival, Alumni Industry Leader Spotlight: Sofiat Abdulrazaaq, Nobelist Karen OBrien delivers lecture about climate change and society, Alumnus Kevin Roberts named next president of the Heritage Foundation, Tokyo Olympics a once-in-a-lifetime experience for School of Communication alumna, Michael Hughes honored with emeritus status, Researchers reflections offer insights on collaboration, Cadet chosen to highlight the colors at the Virginia game, Ending programs for gifted students wont create equity for rural youth, https://www.youtube.com/embed/YcReO9WfWeQ, Lights, gingerbread, eggnog some holiday sights and tastes have global roots, Virginia Tech School of Education nurtures STEM potential in the Mississippi Delta, Student-athletes excel on and off the court. 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News Try it today in 2015 and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in.! Become overwhelmed and impotent and impotent Department invites you to enjoy the of! And Cynthias sons themes in sweat by lynn nottage cost of being hired is to become a scab when plant! Chapters on each of her major works this in-person event will take place in a bar.
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