Page 27 - PGA Community News - April '22

April 2022 April 2022 PGA C.A.N.!, Page 27

Palm Beach Dramaworks Presents

The journey to writing
Intimate Apparel By Two-Time Intimate Apparel began of Joy; Por’Knockers; Mud,
River, Stone; Las Meninas;
Pulitzer Prize-Winner Lynn when Nottage discovered Intimate Apparel; Fabulation,
or the Re-Education of
a photo of her great-
Nottage Opens grandmother while Undine; By the Way, Meet
cleaning out the house of Vera Stark; Mlima’s Tale;
Lynn Nottage’s heartfelt and her grandmother, who was and Clyde’s. She wrote the
heartbreaking Intimate Apparel, struggling with dementia book for the musical The
which she wrote “to honor the and moving in with Secret Life of Bees (music
legacy of her great-grandmother,” Lynn’s brother. She told by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by
opens at Palm Beach Dramaworks an interviewer, “I’d never Lynn Nottage Susan Birkenhead), and MJ:
(PBD) on Friday, April 1, 8 p.m. Set at the turn of the 20th century, seen this woman before. I The Musical, featuring the
the play tells the story of Esther, a 35-year-old African-American didn’t even know her name.” songs of Michael Jackson.
seamstress of exquisite intimate apparel who aches to love and She later discovered that her She is also the librettist for Rita Cole
be loved. An unlikely opportunity arises when she enters into a great-grandmother’s name the opera Intimate Apparel
correspondence with a man she’s never met. The play, which was Ethel Boyce Armstrong. (score by Ricky Ian Gordon),
Variety called “note-perfect,” runs through April 17. Nottage’s mother had already which premiered at Lincoln
The production is directed by Be Boyd, making her PBD passed away, so there was no Center in January for a
debut, and features (in alphabetical order) Rita Cole, Jovon one left who could provide limited run and was recorded
Jacobs, Gabrielle Lee, Krystal Mosley, Jordan Sobel, and Gracie her with family history. All for future broadcast by Great
Winchester. All but Jacobs are making their PBD mainstage Nottage knew initially was Performances on PBS.
debuts. Scenic design is by Michael Amico, costume design is by that her great-grandmother had Nottage was also a writer and
Brian O’Keefe, lighting design is by Kirk Bookman, and sound been a seamstress at the turn of producer on the Netflix series
design is by Roger Arnold. the 20th century. So, she spent She’s Gotta Have It, directed
hours at the New York Public Be Boyd by Spike Lee. Her work has
Library, learning about the been widely produced in the
world in which Ethel lived. United States and throughout
“I wrote Intimate Apparel in part because of my desire the world, and she is the
to get closer to my ancestors,” Nottage told PBD Producing recipient of a MacArthur Gabrielle Lee
Artistic Director William Hayes in a 2020 interview (available “Genius Grant” Fellowship
on YouTube). “I wanted to understand what it might have been as well as many other distinguished awards. A native of
like for a single, black woman at the turn of the century to try Brooklyn, Nottage is a graduate of Brown University and the
and forge a life in New York City despite all the obstacles she Yale School of Drama, and is an associate professor in the
probably had to face. I also wanted to write a play for my mother, Theatre Department at Columbia School of the Arts.
something that she would have loved to have seen, something “... thoughtful, affecting ... The play offers poignant
that was in her gentle, loving spirit.” commentary on an era when the cut and color of one’s dress –
Lynn Nottage is the only woman to have twice received the and of course, skin – determined whom one could and could not
Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She won in 2009 for Ruined and 2017 marry, sleep with, even talk to in public.”
for Sweat. Other full-length plays include Crumbs from the Table –Variety
“ ... deeply moving ...”
–New York Daily News
Palm Beach Dramaworks is a professional, nonprofit theatre
company founded in 2000 and located in the heart of downtown
West Palm Beach. Each season, the award-winning company
produces five mainstage shows and offers a wide variety of
programs for students at the theatre, in schools, and online.
Committed to fostering the future of theatre, PBD has become a
hub for playwrights in Florida and around the country to nurture
their work through initiatives including Drama (in the) works and
the annual New Year/New Plays Festival. PBD is a member of
Theatre Communications Group, Florida Professional Theatres
Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.
Gracie Winchester Krystal Mosley Jordan Sobel Jovon Jacobs Obtain more information at www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.
Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at
7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday (select
ones) at 7 p.m. Matinee performances are on Wednesday,
Saturday, and Sunday at 2 p.m. Post-performance discussions
follow Wednesday matinee and Sunday evening performances.
Individual tickets are $79, with specially priced preview tickets
at $59 and opening night tickets at $94. Student tickets are
available for $15, and pay-your-age tickets are available for
those 18 to 40. Tickets for educators are half price with proper
identification (other restrictions apply). Group rates for 20 or
more and subscription packages for four or five plays are also
available. Tickets can be purchased through the box office, in
person or by phone at (561) 514-4042, Ext. 2, and online 24
hours a day at palmbeachdramaworks.org.
The Don and Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of
downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket
information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit
www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.

Drainage Information From Northern
Palm Beach County Improvement District
Why do some yards flood after large quantities of
rain? The simple answer is according to most approved
drainage designs, some water is meant to be temporarily
stored in public recreational areas, yard swale and
streets. The excess surface water slowly drains to
community lakes or on-site ponds via street and yard
drainage grates and/or via swales, ditches and canals.
The more complex answer is that each yard is different.
Some yards have drainage swale areas. These are areas
that are sloped to catch water and filter out pollutants
as water is absorbed into the ground. Some yards direct
water to the community drainage system as run-off
with very little water retained in the yard. Familiarize
yourself with how your yard was built to determine how
water drains from your home.