SWEAT Comes to Northern Stage Next Week

Lynn Nottage's 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner Sweat continues Northern Stage's 25th Anniversary Season March 8-26 in the Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, Vermont.

Sweat is a heart-wrenching portrait of the human cost of the decline in manufacturing that shines a light on working class communities that often feel left behind. The plot of Sweat revolves around Cynthia, a factory worker in Reading, PA, who shocks her friends and co-workers by applying for a position in the factory's management. Globalization and automation bring massive cuts to the factory, unraveling decades-old friendships and exposing the racial fault lines of the town. Can the union strike hold or will everyone have to fend for themselves? Sweat is a powerful and emotional look at identity, race, economy, and humanity.

Written by Nottage, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined, as well as the multiple award-winning play Intimate Apparel, Sweat will be directed by Northern Stage's BOLD Associate Artistic Director Sarah Elizabeth Wansley, director of the recent Spring Awakening and Heisenberg at Northern Stage. Says Wansley, "Sweat is such an important story for our community - although it takes place in Reading, PA, so many of the struggles of the characters resonate with challenges we are facing in the Upper Valley (the decline in manufacturing, addiction & recovery, incarceration, and economic pressures). This is also a play about friendship and family, how we take care of people we love when they are going through tough times. Lynn Nottage is one of the best writers of our time, and this production features an ensemble of experienced actors working at the top of their craft."

The cast of eight features Stori Ayers (TBS's "The Last O.G." starring Tracy Morgan) as Cynthia; Robert David Grant (Macbeth and King Lear at Northern Stage) as Jason; Matthew Henerson (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, directed by Phylicia Rashad, at the Mark Taper Forum) as Stan; Anna O'Donoghue (Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll on Broadway) as Jessie; Marcus Raye Pérez (Richard III in The Public's Shakespeare in the Park) as Oscar; Christopher B. Portley (La Race Off-Broadway at WP Theater) as Chris; Greg Alverez Reid (Blues for an Alabama Sky at Center Theater Group) as Evan/Brucie; and Anne Torsiglieri (Donna in Mamma Mia! at Northern Stage, and on Broadway in Top Girls, Parade, Blood Brothers, and Miss Saigon) as Tracey.

Joining Wansley on the creative team are David L. Arsenault (Set Designer), Jaymee Ngernwichit (Costume Designer), Mary Ellen Stebbins (Lighting Designer), Melanie Chen Cole (Sound Designer), Casey Kaleba (Fight Director), Colt Luedtke (Production Stage Manager), Elle Muller (Assistant Director), and Alexandria Piton (Costume Assistant). Northern Stage's Dartmouth Experiential Term (E-Termers) students Isaiah Brown and Alexandria Piton serve as the understudies for this production.

Performance times are Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 5 p.m. Opening Night is Saturday, March 11th at 6:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $19 to $69 - $19 for students of all ages, $20 for those

under the age of 25, and $34 for all seats on the final preview performance, Friday, March 10th at 7:30 p.m. Pay What You Can for the first two preview performances, Wednesday and Thursday, March 8th and 9th at 7:30 p.m. Access for All tickets (for EBT card holders) are $5 and are available for any performance while ticket supplies last. The Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts is located at 74 Gates Street, White River Junction, VT. For tickets and information, call (802) 296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Masks are not required but are encouraged inside the Barrette Center for the Arts.

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