Wright State Theatre to Stage Lynn Nottage's SWEAT

Wright State Theatre will stage Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize winning drama, Sweat, as its first play of 2022, running February 3-13th. As if lifted from our own local headlines, this gripping drama takes us into the lives of middle-American industrial workers facing the end of their livelihoods as their factory jobs disappear and their families and friendships struggle to survive. Lynn Nottage has written an exquisite, devastating contemporary tragedy.

Set in one of the poorest cities in America (Reading, Pennsylvania), a group of down-and-out factory workers struggle to keep their present lives in balance, ignorant of the financial devastation looming in their near future. Based on Nottage's extensive research and interviews with residents of Reading, Sweat is a bracing and topical reflection of the present and poignant outcome of America's economic decline. Visiting guest director Shaun Patrick Tubbs says, "SWEAT talks about people who don't often get a voice. Those are the ones who tend to be affected most by the world around them. Often the choices we make are for survival, not because we want them. But, it's because we feel they are our only choice. The truth of the matter is, until you've had everything you know taken away, you don't know what choice you would make. And that's what they're going through in this play."

Tubbs is a New York City-based director whose work has been seen at the Juilliard School, New York Theatre Workshop, The Signature Theatre (Arlington, VA), and many other theatres and opera companies nationally. He is also a graduate of Wright State's BFA Acting program and has been seen locally in productions at The Human Race Theatre Company, among others. When asked about what it's like to be back at his alma mater, Mr. Tubbs says, "I thought it would feel that so much time had passed - given that it's been just about twenty years since I graduated. But it doesn't feel that way. Instead, I feel I've stepped into somewhere familiar that's reminded me of why I do what I do, because it's about learning how to learn. My hope is that I can help these students realize the gap between where they are now and where they want to be - their dream - is much smaller than I thought it was when I was a student at Wright State."

Sweat features scenic design by guest artist Michael Brewer, costume design by student Taylor Dumas, and Lighting Design by Matthew Benjamin. This production of Sweat is made possible, in part, through support from Wright-Patt Credit Union and Richard & June Smythe.

Playwright Lynn Nottage is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama, receiving the award in 2009 for Ruined and again in 2017 for Sweat. Her other major works include the play, Intimate Apparel, now being adapted as an opera, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon, having its premiere at the Lincoln Center Theatre. She is also the librettist for the new Broadway musical, MJ: The Musical, recounting the life of pop sensation, Michael Jackson.

Sweat runs from February 3rd through 13th in Wright State University's Festival Playhouse (Creative Arts Center). Patrons, cast and crew are required to wear masks at all times.

Click here to buy tickets.

Photo: Guest Director Shaun Patrick Tubbs

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