Nottage Play Opens Friday at Asolo

SARASOTA — On Friday, Asolo Repertory Theatre will open its production of Intimate Apparel, "a searing, sensual, and powerful story, by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage."

Set in 1905 New York City, the play follows Esther, a Black seamstress seeking love and companionship. Esther spends her days sewing corsets for other women but hasn’t found love for herself. When she receives a letter from a Barbadian man working on the Panama Canal, Esther kindles an exchange that leads to marriage with a stranger, even while her heart is drawn to a Jewish shop owner who’s promised to another woman.

"It’s brilliantly written, and it’s relevant still,” said director Austene Van. "I cry every time I read it because I can relate to almost everyone who's desiring an honest type of love that has trust and communication. A love where you can just be you. We're still fighting for those things today, society is still telling us: you can't love that person, you can't do this, you can’t be this, you can't, can't, can't. This play is going to be relevant until we learn that we can love who we want to love."

Intimate Apparel runs through April 18 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. Visit the Asolo website for ticket information.