The Theater Project, the professional company at the Burgdorff Center in Maplewood will present the comedy NICKEL AND DIMED by Joan Holden. The play is based on Barbara Ehrenreich's book of the same name, which was subtitled ON (NOT) GETTING BY IN AMERICA.
The play's main character is, coincidentally, a successful middle-aged author named Barbara, who has a successful writer-boyfriend and lawyer-daughter. Over an expansive expense account lunch, her editor scoffs at the idea that Barbara has the endurance to investigate the lives of low-wage workers by trying to survive on minimum wage jobs herself. Barbara refuses to be intimidated, and sets off on a caper that tests her stamina, as well as that of her coworkers, employers and customers as she works her way through diners and discount stores, nursing homes and cheap hotels, and a stint as a bird sitter. "A big surprise for many is that this play is a comedy, says Theater Project artistic director Mark Spina. "It looks at underemployment, income inequality and the need for living wages - huge economic issues being debated right now. But it dramatizes the lives of struggling workers with empathy and humor."Videos