“Intimate Apparel,” the upcoming NAU Department of Theatre production, takes place in 1905, but this play about gender and race resonates with modern audiences. Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Tony-nominated Lynn Nottage, the story is about people striving for a better life despite the realities of race and class.
“Nottage’s story is as eerily profound in 2017 as it was 11 years ago when it took Broadway by storm,” said theatre professor and director Robert Yowell. “Rising above racism, classism and oppression of women, this play explores those who have been forgotten by history.”
“Intimate Apparel” is a tale about Esther, an unmarried African-American independent seamstress who fashions fine lingerie in her boarding house bedroom. Financially secure, yet longing for a husband, Esther finds love with a Hasidic shopkeeper. Sadly, the impossibility of the match drives her to make an unacceptable bond with George, a Caribbean immigrant whose only desire is to steal her wealth and sow his wild oats.
A mixed-race cast of six commands the stage, while 30 students participate in a variety of design and technical theatre roles, including working with costume designer Kate Ellis, set and props designer Naoka Salaka, lighting and sound designer Ben Alexander, event promotion with Kathleen M. McGeever, house management with Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy, technical director Mark De Lancey, and costume shop manager Nancy Parr.
“Intimate Apparel” showings will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13-15 and 19-21, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 in The Clifford E. White Theater on NAU’s Flagstaff campus.
Tickets can be purchased by calling (928) 523-5661, visiting nau.edu/cto or stopping by the NAU Central Ticket Office in the University Union.