A Powerful Portrait of Modern America
Tony and Obie winning American theatre director Pam McKinnon celebrates her inaugural season as artistic director of the American Conservatory Theatre with a groundbreaking program of bold voices, vibrant characters and stories that examine the fabric of what it means to be human. Kicking things off is Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning heavy-hitter Sweat, a poignant drama that received a rapturous reception during its highly-praised run on Broadway in 2017.
Capturing the growing anxiety of a nation at odds with itself, Sweat presents a snapshot of Reading, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar steel-industry hub perched precariously on the edge of the looming recession of the mid 2000s. When beers at the bar with coworkers turns to picket lines, life-long friends find themselves on opposing sides as they try to pick up the pieces of their shattered American Dream. Nottage weaves humour with gut-punching emotional honesty to create a relatable, modern portrait of ambition, despair and resilience.
