Photo Flash: First Look at INTIMATE APPAREL at New Village Arts

New Village Arts presents Lynn Nottage's award-winning drama, INTIMATE APPAREL. The production will be directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed and features a cast of some of San Diego's most prolific and influential performers.

INTIMATE APPAREL follows Esther, a talented African American seamstress in turn-of-the-century New York, who has built a savings for herself while creating beautiful undergarments for her clientele. As she works, her clientele share their dreams and most intimate desires, and Esther earnestly dreams of new beginnings, romantic possibilities, and the lingering, unlikely affection she shares with a Jewish fabric merchant. However, Esther's heartfelt desires are cut short when a series of deceptions and abuses befall her-she must discover if class, culture, and circumstance can outmatch the strength of the human spirit. Inspired by a true story, INTIMATE APPAREL is a heart-rending contemporary work in the style of an enduring classic and the winner of the 2004 New York Drama Critics Circle and the Outer Critics Circle Awards, from Lynn Nottage, the first female playwright to win two Pulitzers.

Melissa Coleman-Reed returns to NVA to direct, having directed last season's critically-acclaimed MEN ON BOATS, and season seventeen's equally acclaimed HAVING OUR SAY: THE DELANY SISTERS' FIRST 100 YEARS. She is joined by actor Milena (Sellers) Phillips* (MEN ON BOATS, HAVING OUR SAY), who also starred in both of Coleman-Reed's previous productions, and Tamara McMillian (MEN ON BOATS). NVA veterans Cashae Monya* (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, AVENUE Q), Gerilyn Brault (THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS, AVENUE Q), and Tom Steward (GUADALUPE IN THE GUEST ROOM, AWAKE AND SING) also star, alongside Taurian McLeod making his NVA debut.

The production will feature creative design from Christopher Scott Murillo (Scenic Design), Michael Rathburn (Lighting Design), MaeAnn Ross (Sound Design), Jojo Siu (Costume Design), with Missy Bradstreet (Stage Manager).

The production will run from September 28 to October 20, with preview performances from September 20 - 27.