In CLYDE’S, a stirring new play from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and her frequent collaborator, director Kate Whoriskey (Ruined, Sweat), a truck stop sandwich shop offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at redemption. Even as the shop’s callous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staff members are given purpose and permission to dream by their shared quest to create the perfect sandwich. You’ll want a seat at the table for this funny, moving, and urgent play. It’s an example of Nottage’s “genius for bringing politically charged themes to life by embodying them in ordinary characters living ordinary lives” (The Wall Street Journal).
The full creative team for Clyde’s includes scenic design by Takeshi Kata, costume design by Jennifer Moeller, lighting design by Christopher Akerlind, sound design by Justin Ellington, original compositions by Justin Hicks and casting by The Telsey Office.
Clyde’s is supported by the Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and by Terry and Bob Lindsay, with additional support provided by American Express.
duba, looking snatched in Jennifer Moeller's perfect costumes-first appears in a tight denim jumpsuit and leopard boots-and wearing Cookie Jordan's hair and wig designs like a parade of crowns, is excellent in a role that is slightly underwritten. Nottage seems interested in the tension between being in-charge and being plain rude, especially as perceived in women, but indulges Clyde's penchant for insults too much to remember to balance her out with much motivation. Perhaps Aduba's exacting performance, in which the venom pours deliciously from her lips, hints at a richer character than Nottage intended, but the result leaves a major gap where there should be a knowing reason.
I think what is most powerful about the show, as with Nottage's Sweat, is how convincingly epic it quickly makes the everyday feel. Here are very small lives which seem huge, thanks to brilliant writing and just-as-brilliant acting. It is also notable that Clyde's features a happy ending, for everyone. The temptation with a drama like this is to go 100 percent gray and scratchy realism, but Nottage does not do that. The end brings together all the themes in one sandwich. Until then, each character has struggled to make their personal best, but then the climactic sandwich-the sandwich that may yet undo Clyde-is a creation of them all. And with their signature ingredient deployed, they are free.
2021 | Broadway |
Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design for a Play | Jennifer Moeller |
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Ron Cephas Jones |
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play | Christopher Akerlind |
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play | Takeshi Kata |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Uzo Aduba |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Ron Cephas Jones |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Kate Whoriskey |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Clyde's |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Uzo Aduba |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Clyde's |
2022 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Awards | Kara Young |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Jennifer Moeller |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Ron Cephas Jones |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Uzo Aduba |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Kara Young |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Clyde's |
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