Rust Belt Drama: The Dueling Critics Review Goodman Theatre's Production of SWEAT
The Dueling Critics, Kerry Reid and Jonathan Abarbanel, review Goodman Theatre’s production of SWEAT.
LISTEN
“There was a lot of attention paid when this play opened in New York, right on the heels of the 2016 election, about it being representative of the Rust Belt voters who didn’t turn out or turned out for Trump. I think there may be an element of truth to that. I don’t think that Lynn Nottage wrote it from a particularly political driven agenda, it’s a very human agenda.” - Kerry Reid talking about the themes in SWEAT,
Kirsten Fitzgerald (Tracey), Tyla Abercrumbie (Cynthia) and Chaon Cross (Jessie) in Goodman Theatre’s production of SWEAT. Photo credit Liz Lauren
Playwright Lynn Nottage is the only woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. The first time was for a work titled RUINED that premiered in 2009, she won again in 2017 for SWEAT, a play that’s now making its Chicago premiere at the Goodman Theatre.
Set in Reading Pennsylvania, SWEAT features a number of characters, but revolves around two women who are friends and co-workers at a local factory. That relationship and others in SWEAT transform as the town’s economic driver (the factory) begins to make some changes.
Keith Kupferer (Stan), Tyla Abercrumbie (Cynthia) and Kirsten Fitzgerald (Tracey) in Goodman Theatre’s production of SWEAT. Photo credit Liz Lauren
