Detroit Rep Theatre to Present the Michigan Professional Premiere of SWEAT Beginning Next Month

Detroit Repertory Theatre's 66th is closing out their season with the Michigan professional premier of the Pulitzer Prize-winning show Sweat by multi-ward winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Sweat opens on May 5th at 8:30 P.M. with a champagne reception and the show closes Sunday, June 25th at 2:00 P.M.

Sweat takes place in the historically union town of Reading, Pennsylvania where factory workers face the consequences of the NAFTA agreement which outsourced a great deal of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Reading is but a microcosm of the larger issues at hand, as we can see the consequences of this legislation in towns like Flint, Hamtramck and Detroit. Nottage masterfully tackles issues of identity, financial independence and strained relationships.

Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined has received an Obie, the Lucille Lortel Award, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play (Manhattan Theatre Club, Goodman Theatre). Other plays include Intimate Apparel (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play; Roundabout Theatre, CENTERSTAGE, South Coast Repertory); Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine (Obie Award; Playwrights Horizons, London's Tricycle Theatre); Nottage is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant." She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, an alumna of New Dramatists and a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, where she is a visiting lecturer.

Sweat is a Detroit Rep homecoming across the board. Director Jeff Nahan is making his Detroit Repertory Theatre directorial debut after being involved with this theatre for over 50 years. Hailing from West Philly, Jeff Nahan came to Detroit in 1971. That decision kicked off a prolific career of over 100 plays directed. Nahan is a proud member of Actor's Equity, SAG/AFTRA and SSDC.

Calling the cues will be veteran theatre artist and Stage Manager Harold Jurkiewicz. The cast includes Detroit Rep Theatre veterans Yolanda Jack, Will Bryson, Jonathan Jones and the Rep's Artistic Director Leah Smith. Annabelle Young makes her return to the Rep stage after her Rep debut last season in Fairview. Making their Rep stage debuts are Patrick O'Lear and Alex Pobutsky. Actors Will Street and Colorgio Romello are making their professional debuts at the Rep!

Showtimes are Fridays and Saturday evenings at 8:30 PM, and matinees are 3:00 PM on Saturdays, and 2:00 PM on Sundays. The Theatre is open one hour before showtimes, plenty of time to allow patrons to indulge in a light dinner or treats from the DRT kitchen and cocktails at the Rep's famous thirty foot oak bar.

Tickets for Sweat are available now. Tickets are still among the most affordable for professional theatre in the region at $25 advance, and $30 the day of a performance. The Rep remains accessible to all with packages of tickets starting at $10 per ticket.

Groups can also purchase tickets in bulk to host their own fundraisers. Purchase tickets and find information at www.detroitreptheatre.com or call the Box Office at (313) 868-1347.

Click here for more information about Sweat.

About the Detroit Repertory Theatre

The first professional (Union), nonprofit theatre in the State of Michigan, the Detroit Repertory Theatre's mission is guided by the belief that the sense of community is stronger than the forces that splinter and that efforts to preserve unity deserve the same attention and support as the justly cultivated efforts to retain diversity. The implicit goal in all the theatre's efforts is to produce the best professional theatre while fostering cultural democratization of the arts, and fighting, by example, the disturbing level of racism that still exists.

Detroit Repertory Theatre is located in the geographical heart of the city at 13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit, MI 48238. Parking is Attended, Lighted, Fenced-In and Free.

(313) 868-1347

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