New York Premiere
The Public Theater presents the Off-Broadway premiere of the latest work from Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Ruined). A slow-bruning whodunnit set against a backdrop of a changing America, Sweat flashes backwards and forwards over the course of eight years, tracing the socio-economic woes a group of factory workers whose community is shaken by a brutal crime. Touching on issues of class, race and money, it's the latest deeply felt drama from Nottage, whose last Off-Broadway show was the acclaimed By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, which won two Lucille Lortel Awards in 2012.
Co-commissioned by DC's Arena Stage and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Sweat debuted in Oregon in 2015. It was directed by Kate Whoriskey, who aided Nottage in interviewing many inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Reading in the course of researching the work, and who returns to direct this New York staging.
What is Sweat About?
Turn of the millennium America is a landscape of industrial decay. Lay-offs and factory closures are decimating working class communities across the country, turning friends into enemies as everyone fights to keep hold of the few remaining jobs. It's a desperate situation which spurs on reckless actions, and two friends, Jason and Chris, are sent to jail for taking part in a violent crime. Eight years later they're released, and find their old hometown to be a very different place. The pair head to a local bar where they meet up with friends and family, and as they all discuss the economic woes of their hometown, the real story of Jason and Chris's crimes is also revealed.