Review: INTIMATE APPAREL at Theater J

One of the best things about theater is the opportunity it gives us to peek into the stories and lives of others. Everyone has their own unique tale, and theater gives us a window into lives and experiences we couldn't even imagine on our own.

Such is the case for Theater J's latest production, Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel, which follows the story of Esther, a seamstress in Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1905. Esther leases a room in Mrs. Dickson's home, and watches other, younger girls come to the city as she once did, and eventually find a husband and move on, all while she continues her work in solitude. It's as the melancholy is setting in that she hears from a laborer, George Armstrong, who is working on the Panama Canal alongside an old church acquaintance, and the two begin a correspondence and romance. Unable to read and write on her own, Esther seeks help from her friend, an entertainer named Mayme, and a close client, the unhappy socialite Mrs. Van Buren. While her written relationship with George grows, Esther also finds herself drawn to Mr. Marks, the Orthodox fabric merchant who delights in her shared appreciation for unique and well-crafted textiles.

While the play is a very interesting slice of life examination, it's also an unhappy one. Esther's relationships are strained by class, station, religion, and distance - Mayme's career puts Esther on one side of a wall, while Mrs. Van Buren's status as a wealthy white woman puts up a different kind of divider. Mr. Marks, despite his fondness for Esther, is shomer negiah (a practice under which Orthodox Jewish men may not physically touch any woman who is not their wife), creating a more physical barrier between them. Esther is, sadly, often left untethered, trying to navigate a world in which even her closest connections are still distant.

While Nottage's script is thoughtful (and full of innuendo), this particular production seems to miss the mark a bit. These issues may, in part, come from expectations: there are elements of the plot the audience can anticipate, so the expectation of those moments sometimes outshined the execution. It sometimes felt as though the production was relying too heavily on this knowledge rather than actually conveying it. For example, the audience knows, from the premise and the set-up, that Esther is supposed to be carrying a torch for Mr. Marks, but their interactions lacked any real tension - it felt as though I understood their connection because I knew it needed to be the case, rather than through anything I saw or felt actually play out on the stage. What made this particularly frustrating is that there were moments in which this was carried off perfectly - George's betrayal in Act II isn't a surprise for the audience, but the interplay between Renee Elizabeth Wilson's Esther and Manu Kumasi's George ensured that even the anticipated blow would land like a gut punch. But these beautifully executed scenes only highlighted the inconsistency throughout the performances. Likewise, while some of the cast members seemed to have a clear sense of their character (especially Esther, Mayme, and Mrs. Van Buren), others fumbled with their lines and blocking, as though they weren't quite comfortable with their movements.

Also a victim of outside expectations is the production quality: Theater J has a solid production team, the specific elements of this performance fell short of the standard the company usually sets for itself. Theater J has utilized projections for a number of productions over the years, but the ones in this performance were unremarkable, mostly limited to telling the audience which piece Esther was focusing on, and this didn't really add much beyond a bit of confusion since the first piece described didn't match the one physically on stage. Likewise, period costumes at Theater J are usually a chance for their team to really shine, and a piece in which costumes are central seemed like a wonderful opportunity to see what the costume and design teams could create. Unfortunately, a few of the costumes didn't quite fit correctly (or maybe just weren't arranged right), and pieces were limited; rather than getting to see a range of work from the leading seamstress, it felt as though the bare minimal number of pieces were presented. I find it hard to believe that a seamstress would only have her sewing machine and a single garment, without supplies or loose fabric bits or other projects around, particularly since it was her livelihood. The minimalist presentation may have made for easy scene transitions, but it also feels like a missed opportunity. I'm also going to just register my frustration with a lead character whose physical appearance is described as unattractive on more than one occasion being played by an actress who is conventionally attractive without any attempt to alter this with makeup or costume.

Overall, Intimate Apparel is a fascinating look at an intriguing woman, time period, and world, but the production just didn't meet the standards Theater J has set for itself over the years.

Intimate Apparel plays at Theater J at the Edlavitch DCJCC through November 13th. Run time is approximately two hours, with one 15-minute intermission. Tickets and accessibility information can be found on the Theater J website: https://theaterj.org/22-23-season/intimate-apparel/

Top photo credit: Renee Elizabeth Wilson as Esther in Theater J's production of Intimate Apparel, playing through November 13. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.

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