(LogOut/ (Both Chris and Jason, not incidentally, also work at the plant, although Chris has higher aspirations.) Cynthia and Tracey worry that Jessies problem with alcohol could get her fired. Ms. Nottage did intensive research for this play, and it shows, perhaps more than it should. While they talk, Oscar comes into the bar to get his things from the back and say goodbye to Stan just as Tracey comes out of the bathroom. All is well, until economic turmoil hits. START: Well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Most of the plays action takes place in a local bar run by Stana former factory worker who was chronically disabled when he injured his leg in a machineand Oscar, a young Colombian American man who helps with stocking and cleaning. End: You go into the building, the walls are covered over with sheetrock, the wood painted gray, or some ungodly color, and it just makes me sad. I know its tough out there, I understand. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. Nottage never tells us whos right or whos wrong, but always shows us whos human. 264 0 obj <>stream I dont know why. There is a rich eloquence in his inarticulateness that this well-spoken play could use more of. More trouble comes when rumors of layoffs begin swirling, and Cynthia finds herself caught between her duties as a manager and her sympathy with her friends in the union. Ms. Whoriskey and Ms. Nottage drew on interviews with residents of Reading, Pa., ranked among the poorest cities in America, as part of their research for the play. But a little more indirection would be more dramatically satisfying. Be angry, but dont make it about this(Points to the skin on the back of her hand) Look at me, Tracey. Just as Oscar goes to take some beer crates to the back, Oscar walks back in, looking uncomfortably at, Olsteads isnt Oscars faulthes only trying to make a living just like they are. The following month, Oscar tells Stan that hes taken on some temporary hours at Olsteads because it pays so well, but Stan warns him that doing so will anger the floor workers whove been locked out. You hear from the old gang? John Earl Jelks SWEAT was originally produced on Broadway at Studio 54 by Stuart Thompson and Louise L. Gund, premiering on March 26, 2017. He encourages both men to let go of their shame and self-blame and to meet up with each other to talk. Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; she's Jason 's mother and Hank 's widow. Sweat (Play) Monologues | StageAgent %PDF-1.4 % Cynthia sits alone in the bar, fantasizing about going on a . CYNTHIA: [] I dont deserve the things youve been saying. tailored to your instructions. Refine any search. warns that peoples jobs could be outsourced to Mexico at any moment because of NAFTA. Learn more. Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Presiding over Traceys informal birthday party and the subsequent, less festive birthdays of Jessie and Cynthia is Stan (Jack Willis), the bartender, though not the owner of the bar. 255 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E7A45B1E121404A9924C6C88D9A82A6>]/Index[239 26]/Info 238 0 R/Length 81/Prev 701207/Root 240 0 R/Size 265/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream hb```d`~1!Ru|G/Vgk`#k[-85?J.YI{fU4/xu.13bj78a$B3x+J%Rn-p]?ORZf4(sH#6Y. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. These middle class, unionized, steelworkers have made plans to save money, go on vacations and then retire with a nice, healthy pension, but when rumors start flying that the company is considering layoffs, and flyers are hung to recruit non-union Latino workers for less money, the war between community and capitalism begins, and tensions start destroying not only jobs, but also relationships. That includes not only Reading, Pa., the steel town where the play is set, but also a beleaguered part of the United States in which jobs are under siege and identity is fraying. New York, NY, SM for Poor Yella Rednecks Chris agreeshe doesnt want to end up like Brucie. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. JASON: [] Eleven dollars an hour? Let it be enough to say that each actor locates the rich humanity in his or her character, and transmits it to the audience with deceptive ease. Oscar, the often-ignored Colombian American busboy, escorts her to the bathroom. First and only job. In Reading, Pennsylvania a group of factory workers are living their lives. Sweat explores how industrial decline affected workers in the former steel and textile town. Talk to Olstead, his cronies. Jason shows up too, which initially alarms Oscar. The mood becomes tense, and Tracey and Cynthia get into a spat: Tracey clearly resents Cynthia for getting the promotion over her. Tracey comes into the bar while Oscar is in the back, and she tells Stan about how lost and humiliated she feels without a job. She tells him that she and Tracey no longer speak after everything that happened. The play examines the intersecting stories of workers on strike, three female friends who work together in a plant, and the generational differences between these workers and their sons, Chris and Jason. STAN: Look. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of Sweat by Lynn Nottage. Well, my familys been here for a long time. It is foolish to underestimate the anger in places like these, as the most recent presidential election confirmed. Certainly I found myself squirming in my seat as I watched the forces of fate, or, to be more specific, the mechanics of 21st-century American capitalism, bear down on these characters with the brutal power of a jackhammer smashing through concrete. TRACEY: [] I know the floor as good as Cynthia. He, too, worked in the factory, as did his father and grandfather, until an accident caused by a faulty machine almost cost him a leg. 440 Park Avenue South Mary Mara, left, as Tracey, and Portia as Cynthia in "Sweat," Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama at the Mark Taper Forum about a factory town in Pennsylvania. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. PERFORMANCE FEE: $130 per performance. Then, Cynthia, Tracey, and Jessie enter, and Brucie harasses Cynthia until she agrees to talk to him. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Make sure to leave suggestions for other plays youd like to see on the blog and Ill see you at the next post! passionate and necessarya masterful depiction of the forces that divide and conquer usSWEAT communicates its points with minimal fuss and maximum grit. Oscar aint getting rich off your misery. Sure, it looks awfully cozy and welcoming, and you can see why its denizens regard it as a second home. If this is your first time, let us know and well help you through the process.

Helps Law Firm Salem Oregon, Articles S