By Rick A. Elina
May, 2008
Intimate Apparel is a play by Lynn Nottage that tells the story of Ester, an African American woman in New York City. The year is 1905 and Esther is an extremely gifted seamstress. Her talents approach the level of artistry and her delicately designed lingerie become prized creations. Her corsets are coveted from boudoirs to bordellos. Her flair for creating elegant undergarments gives Esther financial freedom, at a time when such freedom eludes most African American women. A correspondence from Esther to her cousin leads to a romance with a man from Barbados named George, who works on the Panama Canal. From a historical perspective many African Caribbean men worked on the Panama Canal as a means to a better life. When George finally arrives in New York to meet Esther, surprises are in store.
The inspiration for the play came from the playwright’s great-grandmother, Ethel Boyce, who arrived alone in New York City in 1902. In an interview in 2003, Ms. Nottage says of her great grandmother, “She was an amazing seamstress, who specialized in intimate apparel for women. Plain and deeply religious, it was believed by her seven younger sisters that she would never marry. But despite family predictions, she began corresponding with a man in Panama who had seen a portrait of Ethel hanging above her uncle’s bunk. That man was to become my great-grandfather, George Armstrong, who left us nothing but a few fragmented tales of the hardship of working in the Panama Canal.”
From those fragmented tales, Ms. Nottage seamlessly sews together a memorable story of love and heritage.
Water Tower Theatre at the Addison Theatre Center presents Intimate Apparel opening May 22 and running through June 15. Contact WaterTowerTheatre.org or call 972.450.6232 for more details. Look for my review of Intimate Apparel to appear in the May 29h issue of The North Dallas Gazette.
