Intimate Apparel
We hit the Intiman tonight to see Lynn Nottage’s play, “Intimate Apparel.” I liked it enormously. Its protagonist, Esther, is a humble, African-American seamstress in the New York of 1905 whose business—-producing exquisite undergarments for her uptown and downtown clients—-and late-blooming love life come to successfully dramatize a host of class, gender and race issues in a way that had me emotionally engaged from the first scene. The tender, unspoken, impossible attraction between Esther and Mr. Marks, an Orthodox Jewish fabric salesman, totally had me.
This is the kind of play I like. Politically informed, with implied historical depth, yet intensely personal. (Nottage graduated from my alma mater, so [her play’s mix]((http://www.culturevulture.net/Theater7/IntimateApparel.htm “Karen Weinstein’s review of ‘Intimate Apparel’”) felt familiar to me.) I’ve had it with erudite plays that pack but a thimble’s worth of emotional punch (think “Copenhagen” ), or purported comedy that features hyper-articulate blather amounting to nothing (think “Bach at Leipzig,” which we abandoned at intermission).
By the way, a big thanks to Ezell’s Famous Chicken. They donated a table full of goodies for after the performance (it was opening night). I’d always wanted to try Ezell’s on 23rd. Well, the fried chicken, rolls, cole-slaw and potato salad were a delicious, most welcome treat.
Tags:brown intiman luna mom sophie theater