Gil Riego Jr.
“Close ya mouth b’fo’ ya teeth dry out!” razzed Mayme, a 1905 Manhattan prostitute played by Mimi Vasser.
It was as if she had caught me-I promptly picked my jaw up off the floor and slid back in my seat.
Opening Friday night at 8, the theater department’s latest production, “Intimate Apparel,” boasts a truly smokin’ cast to match its racy title.
Every line on cue, every accent carried beautifully and every emotion conveyed with moving intensity, the play’s six actors manage to utterly captivate their audience through a story of greed, betrayal, lust, infidelity and bi-curiosity.
“Intimate Apparel” also showcases elaborate turn-of-the-century attire, as well as a fantastic set that functions as seven or eight different worlds.
The story, inspired by playwright Lynn Nottage’s great-grandmother, revolves around Esther Mills, a classy seamstress with a not-so-modest clientele. Black, middle-aged and female in 1905 America, Esther is all but invisible to the world around her, and she longs for companionship.
When an opportunity presents itself in the form of a letter from a man in Panama, Esther finds herself elated, and becomes filled with hope for an end to her loneliness. But she soon realizes that love comes at a considerable price.
Through flawlessly delivered lines and an irresistible stage presence, lead Victoria Hubbard weaves her soul into a character that could have easily been dull otherwise.
Although the production features some awkward scene transitions, and lacks an amount of closure at the end, the atmosphere and phenomenal acting more than compensate for its deficiencies.
By no means your average college theater production, “Intimate Apparel” is sure to leave audiences in awe of its cast, crew and director, Valorie Grear.
The show will run in the Performing Arts building’s Dow Arena Theater through Sunday, May 13 at a cost of $10 to students and seniors, and $12 to everyone else.
All photos by Kelly Goff / The Roundup ()
Socialite Mrs. Van Buren, played by Sarah Ruth Ryan, gets fitted for ‘intimate apparel’ she hopes will entice her husband. ()