Sweat at PTC

Last night I went to see Sweat, the latest production at PTC which chronicles the demise of the industrial town of Reading, Pennsylvania when the once enviable jobs at factories are outsourced.  I didn't know anything about this play when I walked into the theater but I found it to be incredibly compelling.  The action takes place at a working class bar frequented by Tracey (Margot White), Jessie (Susanna Florence), and Cynthia (Nafeesa Monroe) who work the line at a local manufacturing plant.  Cynthia's estranged husband Brucie (Vince McGill) wanders in and out with a cautionary tale about how he lost his job at another factory when management wanted to cut costs and shut the workers out when the union took a hard line.  Stan (Christopher Duvall), a former factory worker severely injured on the job, is the bartender who lends a sympathetic ear.  Oscar (Xavier Reyes), the barback who is viewed as an immigrant because he is Hispanic, is trying to find a better job.  When Cynthia is given a promotion from the line to low-level management, Tracey, who also applied for the job, believes it is because Cynthia is African-American and she blames her when the factory wants to cut salaries and benefits and then locks them out.  Jason (Callum Adams) and Chris (Hassiem Muhammad), the sons of Tracey and Cynthia, respecively, who also work at the factory, blame Oscar when he crosses the picket line to take a job at the factory leading to tragedy.  What I found so interesting about this story is that the audience is clearly meant to sympathize with the workers who have given more than twenty years of their lives to a company that only cares about the bottom line but playwright Lynn Nottage also wants her protagonists to be held accountable for lashing out at the wrong people (Hispanics and African-Americans) instead of blaming corporate America.  This production is so well done and the ensemble cast is outstanding.  Every single character elicits sympathy and understanding even when expressing opposing viewpoints.  Almost all of the action takes place in one location and the choreography moving the characters in and out of the bar is very innovative.  The bar itself is fabulous with so much detail (I loved all of the sports pennants and neon signs for local beers).  I really enjoyed this production but it should be noted that there is an excessive amount of profanity (many people around me left at intermission) and there were several racial slurs that really upset me.  Sweat runs at PTC through April 13 (tickets may be purchased here).