Review: SWEAT at THE GAMM THEATRE

For the better part of the last 40 years, things have been a nightmare for the American working class, especially across the so called "rust belt" where factories once thrived and have now fallen silent and abandoned. In SWEAT, Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer prize winning play, the playwright takes us directly into that world with a piercing look at small town America and the destruction wrought in those communities by de-industrialization, racism, violence, and addiction.

SWEAT opens in 2008, with brief scenes of two young men talking to their parole officer, although we don't yet know the significance or even exactly what these characters have done. The story then jumps back to the year 2000, where most of the show takes place. These back-and-forth time jumps are done via scene setting voiceovers by Jackie Davis, who provides snippets of historical, political, and pop culture information to frame the different eras. We then find ourselves in a bar in the blue-collar town of Reading, Pennsylvania, where a tight-knit group of friends initially come to celebrate birthdays, drink, and chat about the local steel factory where they are all employed. However, when one of the women is chosen for a managerial position, their friendships begin to breakdown as the factory and its workers become another casualty of global capitalism via the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

While addressing the collapse of industry in America, Nottage also examines race and racism in Reading. When Cynthia (Kym Gomes), a woman of color, is selected as supervisor, her lifelong co-workers and white friends accuse her of being a diversity hire, with Tracey (Casey Seymour Kim) repeating all too common tropes and myths about the company receiving "tax breaks or something" for promoting a person of color. Meanwhile, Tracey's son Jason (Conor Delaney) has a toxic friendship with Gomes' son, Chris (Erik Robles), both of whom also work at Olstead's. This friendship continues despite a tragic and racist incident incited by Chris, which is what lands the pair of them in jail and impacts a third character in a devastating way.

The cast, deftly directed by the Gamm's associate artistic director, Rachel Walshe, captures the changing spectrum of the relationships that exist between the characters as the play unfolds. Steve Kidd excellently portrays Stan the bartender as the level-headed, stolid presence in everyone's lives. Casey Seymour Kim fully captures Tracy's trajectory of emotions as she grapples with the world around her changing. Conor Delaney as Jason adroitly portrays how a young man, harboring racist beliefs, and a trapped in a nostalgic and dying world, can be merely one moment from committing a violent act - seen all too often in modern times. And Erik Robles as Chris, who starts to hope for something more in the form of higher education, excellently portrays the struggle of young person of color trying to balance parental expectations, daily racism, and the declining economic fortunes of life in a rust belt town. The set design by Jessica Hill Kidd, perfectly encapsulates the feeling of a well-worn in local bar, which is on the same level as the first row of the audience, inviting us into the action on-stage.

While the closing of the factory steals everyone's livelihoods, it also unleashes a long simmering racism, rage and depression felt by the towns people, a tale still playing out all across America today. Nottage's play lets us examine this world via these personal relationships, and the Gamm's outstanding production leaves the ultimate analysis of these issues up to the audience.

Sweat runs through November 27 at The Gamm Theatre, 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, RI. Tickets: $55-$65. Information about Friday night pay-what-you-can rush rickets, as well as discounts for seniors, students, groups and more at gammtheatre.org/discounts. Call 401-723-4266 or purchase at gammtheatre.org/sweat. Health and safety protocols at gammtheatre.org.

Pictured L to R: Kym Gomes as Cynthia, Conor Delaney as Jason, Casey Seymour Kim as Tracey, Erik Robles as Chris. Photo by Cat Laine.

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