Piedmont Players proudly presents Intimate Apparel, by Lynn Nottage. Nottage is the first woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; in fact, she has won it twice. The seed of this play, Nottage says, was a found photograph of her great-grandmother, “a seamstress from Barbados, who at the age of 18 arrived alone in New York City at the dawn of the Twentieth Century. The image invited a thousand questions, none that could be answered by the living.” So Nottage imagined her way to the answers.
In the play, Esther, 35, sews exquisite lingerie for ladies of society, as well as ladies of the night. They invite Esther into their personal lives while her own takes a backseat. Enter Mr. Marks, an Orthodox Jew who sells beautiful fabric. Enter George, a long-distance suitor who writes Esther poetic letters.
George is played by local newcomer Duane DeBerry, a children’s librarian at Rowan Public Library, who says, “I have a whole new level of respect for anyone who steps on stage. George’s entire demeanor shifts throughout the play, and capturing that evolution in a believable way took real effort.
Tina [director Tina Kelly] set the bar high for me. Her guidance never felt like correction; it felt like she was inviting us into her vision. I think audiences will feel the impact of the vision she has coached us toward.” His castmates told him that people who know him in real life are going to be shocked when they see him on stage. “I’m nothing like George,” DeBerry says with a smile, “but when they said that, I realized I must be doing something right.”
Raven Monroe, Kari Johnson, Amy Hope, Aaron Zimmerman, and Teresa Long round out the cast. Tina Kelly, who specializes in plays by Black playwrights about Black cultural experiences, leads the team, which includes set designer Jennifer O’Kelly and stage manager Marissa Gainey.
Intimate Apparel runs May 1-10 at the Meroney Theater.
For tickets, visit https://piedmontplayers.com/show/intimate-apparel/ or call the box office at 704.633.5471.
Associated Show
