Intense ‘Sweat’ highlights the working-class struggle

Directed by Kenny Moten, OpenStage production hits all the marks

Intense, real, heavy, nostalgic, outstanding — those are some of the adjectives I would use to describe Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Sweat. Nottage spent nearly two years researching and interviewing the residents of the town of Reading, Pennsylvania where the action in Sweat takes place. The result is the thought-provoking play now showing at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center.

Director Kenny Moten brings this story of the declining working class to life in an OpenStage Theatre and Company production. With what Moten calls what might be the most diverse cast Fort Collins has ever seen, (and I believe it) Sweat is sure to make you feel uncomfortable and surprised in this powerful production.

Set in a dive bar, complete with a real tap and jukebox, Sweat alternates between the years of 2000 and 2008. It’s the time of NAFTA, when unions were failing and factory jobs were moving elsewhere where cheaper labor could be found. Jobs were lost, lines were picketed and Nottage’s characters sweat it out in the bar.

Best friends Cynthia (Ghandia Johnson) and Tracey (Sydney Parks Smith) have worked in the factory nearly their whole lives. Their sons, Chris (Rashad Holland) and Jason (Kimber Freestone Hoven), also best friends, work in the factory too. In fact, all of our characters at one point in time work at the factory and therefore have a unique perspective to share when layoffs begin.

Cynthia, having gotten a management job (one which Tracey also applied for), becomes the scapegoat when layoffs begin causing feuds between both sets of friends. Escalating matters is the racial tension between these Black and White friends. Add issues around alcohol and drug addiction and tragedy is imminent.

(L-R) Don Randle as Brucie and Kevin Reifel as Stan in ‘Sweat’ | Photo: Steve Finnestead

A place in time

There’s a TV in the bar playing the news to firmly ground us in the happenings of the time. There’s also an incredible soundtrack; the result of director Moten’s request for the actors to create playlists that reflect their character. The songs  are combined with sound director Joseph Lamar’s choices to express the feel of the times.

And there are costumes that place us clearly in the early aughts perfectly (Jason jokes about just how many pairs of kicks Chris has, and indeed we see him appear in at least four different pairs). All of this combines to give us a clear sense of time and place giving the audience a feeling of nostalgia that makes Sweat pertinent to each individual. It also provides some much-needed lightheartedness in an otherwise serious story.

While each player lends a sense of authenticity to the story, it is Johnson who really stands out. She was real and honest and, when she cried, I truly felt her anger, sadness and turmoil. There were more than a few moments when my eyes welled along with hers. There is an intensity to this play — screaming and swearing and fight scenes expertly orchestrated by Ambrose Ferber that made me turn my head away as I might do with a movie. It all served to make Sweat feel palpable and timely.

Sweat does a great job reminding us that a job is very often one’s identity. When that job is lost or threatened, our characters no longer know who they are. Add that to the loss of wages and it can be a recipe for resentment and even hatred. The latter is what makes Sweat erupt.

This production was simply remarkable, with a cast full of players perfectly matched to their role. Director Moten had a vision and he surely reached it. If you have a chance to see a performance, do not miss it, but keep in mind, this show is definitely R-rated.