Pulitzer Prize–Winning SWEAT Makes Baltimore Debut At Everyman Theatre

From its origins in the painstakingly researched fieldwork of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage comes Sweat- the gritty, emotionally charged story of friendships and hardships in post-industrial small-town America. Hailed by The New York Times as "an extraordinarily moving drama" that "brims with the kind of ripe, richly imagined life associated with the work of the great August Wilson," the show's Baltimore debut runs October 23-November 25, 2018 and is directed by Everyman Theatre Founding Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi.

Lifelong friends Cynthia and Tracey share everything together as coworkers in a steel mill of Reading, Pennsylvania. After a lethal combination of NAFTA-inflicted layoffs, lockouts, and picket lines plunge the town into economic distress, the sudden downturn crosses racial and generational divides. A
once-intimate friendship is changed forever; suspicion, desperation, and resentment grow as opportunities dry up, opioids take over, and demographics in the Rust Belt town begin to shift.

The action unfurls at the local bar as audiences connect the dots and the play moves between the months before September 11, 2001, and the Economic Crash of 2008. The lives of the factory workers crumble around them, and the beginnings of racial animus, deep division, and much-deserved anger unveil the march toward the nation's current political milieu. In a world that is fractured and distrustful, Sweat challenges us to consider how we can find common ground to move forward as a country.

"Rooted in the culture of the working class, Sweat deftly captures the pressure cooker of trying times up the road in Reading, Pennsylvania- a post-manufacturing city not unlike Baltimore itself," said Director Vincent M. Lancisi. "As industrial jobs disappear and skilled laborers lose the living once guaranteed to ensure a middle­-class life, Sweat is far beyond relevant. Lynn Nottage crafts an immensely personal, compelling story. This landmark production, further buoyed by the incredibly talented Everyman cast and crew, is an essential work of contemporary art."

Sweat is the fourth play by Lynn Nottage to grace the Everyman stage.
Helen Hayes Award-winning Resident Actress Dawn Ursula*, who portrays Cynthia, has played leading roles in every work Everyman has produced in the Nottage canon ­-including last season's Intimate Apparel, Ruined (2015) and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (2014).

Lynn Nottage is the only woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice, joining acclaimed playwright August Wilson as the only other playwright of color to achieve this feat. She spent over two years heavily researching the background of the play, conducting hundreds of interviews and establishing deep relationships with Reading residents.

The cast for Sweat includes Resident Company members Megan Anderson* (Jessie), Deborah Hazlett* (Tracey), and Dawn Ursula* (Cynthia). Fellow cast members returning to the Everyman stage include Jason B. McIntosh* (Evan) and Kurt Rhoads* (Stan), while JaBen Early* (Brucie), Vaughn Ryan Midder* (Chris), Alejandro Ruiz* (Oscar), and Matthew Ward* (Jason) make their Everyman debut.

The production team for Sweat includes Daniel Ettinger (Resident Set Design), David Burdick (Resident Costume Design), Harold F. Burgess II (Resident Lighting Design), C Andrew Mayer (Sound Design), Lewis Shaw (Resident Fight Choreography), Lindsey R. Barr (Dramaturgy), and Amanda M. Hall* (Resident Stage Management).
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Sweat runs October 23 through November 25, 2018. Tickets ($10-65) are on sale now: online (everymantheatre.org), by phone (410.752.2208), or at the Everyman Theatre Box Office (315 W. Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD).

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