BWW Q&A: Lori Marra Talks SWEAT at CenterStage Theatre at the JCC

Based on interviews with working-class residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat follows a tight-knit group of factory workers who gather at their neighborhood bar to share laughs, drinks, and dreams of a better life. When layoffs, strike lines, and economic upheaval threaten their livelihoods, friendships fracture and long-held tensions surface.

Originally scheduled for 2020 before pandemic shutdowns forced its cancellation, Sweat now arrives on the JCC CenterStage stage.

Though Lori Marra has rigorously studied the craft of playwriting since 1999, she completed her MFA in Playwriting from Spalding University in November 2025. Rather than retire, she decided to deepen her creative work. During graduate school, she developed two full-length comedies and extensively revised a third full-length drama. Her graduate thesis, titled The Serious Business of Farce: Creating Farce for a Modern Audience, explored how farce can be adapted for contemporary audiences. She has also conducted research and presented a graduate lecture on the role of fringe festivals in developing new work titled Let’s Get Fringy: The Importance of Fringe Festivals for 21st Century Playwrights and How to Pursue a Production.

Marra has attended the Kenyon College Playwrights Conference and workshops led by Lynn Nottage, Jeffrey Sweet, Paula Vogel, and Terrence McNally. She has been a proud member of the Dramatists Guild for nearly two decades and holds an MS in Philosophy from the University of Rochester. More information is available at www.lorimarra.com.

What themes in this play appeal to a 21st-century audience?

Lynn Nottage is a master at intertwining several social themes into one story, and Sweat is no exception. One of the biggest issues in the play is the effect of economic crisis on communities. Nottage shows how deeply this kind of upheaval can affect friendships, even in communities that once seemed peaceful and tightly knit. Job loss and financial strain disrupt personal bonds and reveal underlying tensions related to class, race, and social division in America.

At the beginning of the play, we meet an array of characters who Nottage describes as being “born in Berks County, Pennsylvania.” Yet the group reflects the diversity of the community: white Americans of German and Italian heritage, African American workers, and a Colombian American immigrant. They span different ages but share friendships and connections formed over many years.

The early bar scenes transport us into a neighborhood filled with warmth and camaraderie. But as corporate decisions eliminate longtime jobs and bring in replacement workers, those friendships deteriorate. Anger replaces laughter, and solidarity slowly turns into hostility.

Is this play still relevant in the current American political and socioeconomic climate?

Yes, very much so. The play’s original themes—disillusionment, economic insecurity, and the erosion of the middle class—still resonate strongly today. The challenges faced by working-class Americans have evolved rather than disappeared, making the play’s message just as timely now as when it premiered.

Nottage originally portrayed the decline of American manufacturing and the loss of stable blue-collar jobs. Today, workers face additional uncertainties from automation, artificial intelligence, and the rise of the gig economy. Long-term employment that once defined the middle class has increasingly been replaced by short-term or contract work. In that sense, the anxieties experienced by the characters in Sweat remain deeply familiar.

What does this play say about poverty and the rise of drug abuse among displaced workers in the 20th century?

Both Brucie and Tracy ultimately grapple with addiction as the economic pressures surrounding them intensify. The safety net once provided by their labor union begins to collapse, leaving them struggling with poverty and uncertainty. Brucie turns to drugs as a form of escape after a devastating walkout, and Tracy similarly becomes dependent on painkillers as the strike drags on.

Their struggles reflect a broader pattern seen in many communities affected by industrial decline. As factories closed and stable jobs disappeared, poverty rose in many small towns across the country. In some places, the drug trade emerged as both a form of income and a form of escape from economic despair.

Research cited by the Brookings Institution has shown that nearly every county in the United States experienced an increase in overdose deaths between 2000 and 2015, with poorer counties often hit the hardest. Reading, Pennsylvania—the community that inspired Nottage’s research—experienced a dramatic rise in poverty during that same period.

The play reveals how the loss of meaningful work can erode a community’s sense of purpose. Work has long provided identity and stability for these characters, and when it disappears, some turn to drugs while others channel their frustration into anger and violence.

With this play, Lynn Nottage won her second Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming the only woman to win it twice. What do you see as her legacy as a dramatist?

Playwright Lynn Nottage’s legacy extends far beyond awards. Her work sits at the intersection of social justice theatre, contemporary American realism, and feminist storytelling.

She consistently centers people who are often absent from major stages, including working-class communities, women of color, displaced laborers, and survivors of violence. Importantly, she presents these individuals not as case studies but as complex human beings whose lives deserve to be seen and understood.

In both of her Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, she draws on documentary-style playwriting rooted in community listening and research. From her early works such as Crumbs from the Table of Joy to more recent projects, she has created a wide range of stories about women navigating oppression, survival, and resilience.

Perhaps her greatest legacy is demonstrating that socially conscious storytelling about real people can also achieve widespread commercial and critical success.

Lynn Nottage spent her first four years after college working for Amnesty International as a National Press Officer. Do you think that experience informed this play?

It certainly appears to have influenced her perspective as a writer. Nottage has spoken about witnessing profound suffering while working for Amnesty International, particularly stories involving women who could not easily access help or justice.

In one interview, she described a moment when a woman brought photographs of women arriving at a battered women’s shelter and asked what Amnesty could do to help them. Because the organization’s mandate focused on government actors, they were unable to intervene in cases of domestic abuse. Nottage has said she was deeply affected by the images and the feeling of helplessness they conveyed.

That experience led her to write a short play titled Poof! which became her first breakthrough work when it won a short play competition and was produced by Actors Theatre of Louisville.

How does this play fit into Nottage’s body of work?

Sweat reflects many of the themes that define Nottage’s writing. Her plays frequently explore labor struggles, race relations, and the dignity of working-class life while highlighting the experiences of women and marginalized communities.

The play captures the intersection of economic hardship and personal identity. Through her characters, Nottage examines how pride, dignity, and generational ties to labor shape people’s sense of belonging. In doing so, she gives voice to communities that are often overlooked in mainstream narratives.

Why present this show now?

Although the play was written before the 2016 presidential election, many critics noted that it offered insight into the frustrations felt by working-class Americans experiencing economic displacement.

The story examines how globalization, outsourcing, and the loss of union power reshaped communities that once depended on stable manufacturing jobs. These economic shifts continue to influence American political and social conversations today.

Presenting the play now allows audiences to reflect on those deeper social and economic forces through the lens of human stories rather than political rhetoric.

What was this reunion of actors like after a six-year hiatus?

The returning actors settled back into their characters and the rhythms of the play quite quickly. The emotional connections and relationships between the characters remained strong.

The biggest challenges were logistical, such as relearning blocking and refreshing the lines. In many ways, it felt like returning home after time away. Everything still felt familiar, but the distance also brought new perspective and a deeper appreciation for the material.

What elements of this show will appeal to the JCC CenterStage audience?

Like most theatregoers, CenterStage audiences appreciate a work that helps them see the world through a different perspective. Many people in Rochester can relate to the decline of manufacturing jobs in their own community through companies such as Kodak and Xerox.

For others, the play offers a chance to understand how these economic shifts have affected communities across the country. Sweat has sometimes been described as a play that helps explain the frustrations behind major political shifts in America, but it is not a partisan story.