Floyd Harden, Alli Maier and Tara Brown (Michael Hardy Photography)
Long Beach Playhouse
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Through August 17
RECOMMENDED
Lynn Nottage’s Sweat, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017, unfolds like a prophecy. Set mostly in 2000 with flashes forward to 2008, it foretells the deindustrialization of small-town America. It foreshadows the subsequent market crash that created the perfect conditions for a presidential candidate to capitalize on the rage and grief working-class folks felt over losing an America they felt was great. In Long Beach Playhouse’s production of Sweat, directed by Maisha Azadi Sebastiany, the political becomes very personal.
Sweat tells the story of a community of workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, who are connected to their jobs at the steel mill by generations of loyalty and years of physically demanding labor. Best friends Tracey (Alli Maier), Cynthia (Tara Brown), and Jessie (Natalie Venturi) gather at the local bar to celebrate birthdays and unwind with a drink poured by diplomatic bartender Stan (Floyd Harden). Tracey’s son Jason (Chase Payne) and Cynthia’s son Chris (Ja’lil Nelson) also work at the plant but harbor big dreams of buying a motorcycle and going back to school, respectively. A pre-show announcement revealed that the production had recently undergone re-casting for the roles of Chris and parole officer Evan (Robin Harrison). Despite carrying a script with him for the second act, Nelson as Chris is a heartbreakingly tender portrayal of a dream deferred.
Everything changes for this group of friends when negotiations between the steel mill and the union break down, threatening the livelihood of entire families. The conflict also exposes the racial tensions simmering beneath the surface of this working-class community, centering on Latin-American bar employee Oscar (Giovanni Navarro) who’s frustrated after years of being denied a lucrative factory job. But Oscar’s American dreams seem threatening to the steel mill employees, who feel theirs slipping away. It’s eerie to hear the beginnings of the now-familiar refrains: immigrants taking our jobs, diversity hires receiving unearned promotions. Sweat unearths a violent truth — we turn on each other when the real enemy seems too big to fight.
The Studio, Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru Aug. 17. www.LBPlayhouse.org. Running time: two hours and 45 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
