Lynn Nottage Paints Gripping Portrait of Workers Who Lose Everything

by Lynne Stevens

I arrived in Palo Alto early and took a stroll in Stanford Shopping Center. With its high-end shops that seem to be thriving, it presents a huge contrast to “Sweat” at Palo Alto Players. Lynne Nottage’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize play shines a light on the “haves” and “have nots” of our country—a terrific production with outstanding actors.

Working hard used to be the blue-collar path to success. Work hard, work your way up, and you will have a good life and provide for your family with a job well done. But in the 80s, corporate greed took over.  Workers are pitted against their friends, people they work with, side by side, for years. In 2008, Nottage interviewed steel workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, to find out what the offshoring means for workers.

As the friends gather to celebrate her birthday, alcoholic Jessie (Tannis Hanson) recalls the dreams of travel she had years before starting work at the steel factory. It’s a gritty version of Cheers with wise comments from bartender Stan (Scott Solomon).  Stan knows what’s going on. He was crippled at Olstead Steel and was fired. His loyalty went unrewarded.

Scenic Designer Kevin Davies’ clever sets draw us into the bar where most of the action takes place and with the drop of a scrim shows the brick back alley or the slide of a wall and minimal furniture, indicating an office or living room. Neon beer signs, pool table and TV decorate.  Scene changes are punctuated by Sound Designer Gregorio Perez’s stellar play list of early 2000s tunes, like Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.”

Outspoken Tracey (Amy Meyers) and confident Cynthia (Kimberly Ridgeway) are best friends who have worked together for decades. When Cynthia is promoted to management, she takes a lot of jibes from her jealous friends. They resent her rise, but they also need her inside news.

Cynthia’s weak, estranged husband Brucie is pining for her, but he sinks into self-pity after losing his job. Beaten down, he becomes addicted to drugs. Tracey, who still has her grandfather’s toolbox, is particularly nasty to Cynthia. Race and class figure in the rising animosity between the old friends.

In a powerful opening flash-forward, sullen white Jason (Will Livingston)  resists authority; while his sympathetic African American buddy Chris (Adam C. Torian) hashes over the past with tough parole officer Evan (ShawnJ West). Although Chris aspires to go to college, his mistake has set him back.

It gets to the point where the company is asking the workers to take sixty percent pay cuts! They are not afraid to strike but it doesn’t seem to do any good. The company just lets them go. Stan’s earnest Colombian helper, Oscar (Aaron Edejer), has been trying for years to get a job at the factory. The strike is his opportunity but it raises the hackles of the strikers.

“Sweat” remains a relevant drama of politics, economics, and humanity. Wonderful show—Don’t miss it.

“Sweat” by Lynn Nottage, directed by ShawnJ West, scenic design by Kevin Davies, costumes by Nia Jacobs, lighting by Chris Beer, sound by Gregorio Perez, at Palo Alto Players, Palo Alto, California. Info: paplayers.org – to June 29, 2025.

Cast: Aaron Edejer, Tannis Hanson, Anthony Haynes, Will Livingston, Amy Meyers, ShawnJ West, Kimberly Ridgeway, Scott Solomon, and Adam C. Torrian.

Banner photo: Tracey (Amy Meyers), Jessie (Tannis Hanson), and Cynthia (Kimberly Ridgeway) enjoy a night out at their local bar. Photos: Scott Lasky