What do you think?
Rate this book
Intimate Apparel
1905, New York City. Esther, a black seamstress, sews exquisite lingerie for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. She has saved enough to allow her to dream of one day opening a beauty salon for black women, and at thirty-five years old, longs for a husband and a future. When she begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man who is working on the Panama Canal, it looks like life may be about to take a different course.
This is the acting edition of the play.
This is the acting edition of the play.
58 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
15 people are currently reading
975 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Nottage
32 books215 followersLynn Nottage is an American playwright whose work often deals with the lives of marginalized people. She is a professor of Playwriting at Columbia University. She was the first woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice; the first in 2009 for Ruined, and the second in 2017 for Sweat.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
January 30, 2018
In the past several weeks I have reviewed two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays by Lynn Nottage, Sweat and Ruined. Both were brilliant works, simple in concept and staging, complex in emotional resonance and social commentary. The prizes awarded for those later plays included the promise of her earlier plays, like this one, which first came to the stage when Nottage was thirty-nine.
It is 1905. An exceptionally-talented unmarried black seamstress, Esther, sews lingerie for wealthy white women and the black prostitutes they envy…envy for their bodies, their freedom, and the fact that the black women are getting nooky while the white wives are not. Esther is not especially pretty but hopes one day to marry. She carries on a long-distance romantic relationship by mail with a man she has never met. Eventually the brawny workman from Barbados who is digging the Panama Canal comes to New York.
The play is visually exciting: there is much color and sensuality in the fabrics Esther chooses for her craft, all bought from an orthodox Jewish salesman named Marks who has a weakness for a good story. He is also unmarried, and like Esther, is engaged to a person he has never met. Esther and Marks are attracted to one another through their mutual love of fabric, but could never consider an alliance, given that she is black and he is Jewish.
Special moments of emotional truth come when Esther describes her epistolary relationship with the man from Barbados to her best friend, Mayme, a beautiful woman wearing herself out working the Tenderloin district for uncaring brutes. Mayme teases Esther mercilessly for her naiveté when it comes to men, but suddenly “acknowledges Esther’s hurt” when the teasing veers into disrespect and Mayme takes Esther’s face between her hands. Moments of tenderness like these punctuate the work; everyone who knows Esther wants to protect her from hurt.
The play showcases black female friendship, and the close sense of community that forms around people of talent who earn little yet depend upon one another to hold one another up. We also see the souring of a marital relationship when the husband is dependent, and the exploitative and ultimately dismissive relationship between a black wage earner and her white mistress who doesn't see the power disparity in their relationship. The interactions between characters so familiar in our society, are nonetheless treated with great sensitivity, subtlety, and particularity.
The play takes only a couple hours to read and yet offers a lot of story and visual excitement…and sound! Mayme, it turns out, is a talented pianist who ends up turning tricks and playing ragtime to a syncopated beat.
Imagine Viola Davis in the role of Esther, which she did play off-Broadway in 2004 at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City, for which she won several awards and was nominated for several more.
As it turns out, the story has the ring of personal history: Lynn Nottage's own grandmother was a seamstress in New York and her grandfather was Barbadian who worked on the Panama Canal. The play is a reimagining of history, since few details are known.
Clips of the play, and of producers talking about the play are posted on my blog.
It is 1905. An exceptionally-talented unmarried black seamstress, Esther, sews lingerie for wealthy white women and the black prostitutes they envy…envy for their bodies, their freedom, and the fact that the black women are getting nooky while the white wives are not. Esther is not especially pretty but hopes one day to marry. She carries on a long-distance romantic relationship by mail with a man she has never met. Eventually the brawny workman from Barbados who is digging the Panama Canal comes to New York.
The play is visually exciting: there is much color and sensuality in the fabrics Esther chooses for her craft, all bought from an orthodox Jewish salesman named Marks who has a weakness for a good story. He is also unmarried, and like Esther, is engaged to a person he has never met. Esther and Marks are attracted to one another through their mutual love of fabric, but could never consider an alliance, given that she is black and he is Jewish.
Special moments of emotional truth come when Esther describes her epistolary relationship with the man from Barbados to her best friend, Mayme, a beautiful woman wearing herself out working the Tenderloin district for uncaring brutes. Mayme teases Esther mercilessly for her naiveté when it comes to men, but suddenly “acknowledges Esther’s hurt” when the teasing veers into disrespect and Mayme takes Esther’s face between her hands. Moments of tenderness like these punctuate the work; everyone who knows Esther wants to protect her from hurt.
The play showcases black female friendship, and the close sense of community that forms around people of talent who earn little yet depend upon one another to hold one another up. We also see the souring of a marital relationship when the husband is dependent, and the exploitative and ultimately dismissive relationship between a black wage earner and her white mistress who doesn't see the power disparity in their relationship. The interactions between characters so familiar in our society, are nonetheless treated with great sensitivity, subtlety, and particularity.
The play takes only a couple hours to read and yet offers a lot of story and visual excitement…and sound! Mayme, it turns out, is a talented pianist who ends up turning tricks and playing ragtime to a syncopated beat.
Imagine Viola Davis in the role of Esther, which she did play off-Broadway in 2004 at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City, for which she won several awards and was nominated for several more.
As it turns out, the story has the ring of personal history: Lynn Nottage's own grandmother was a seamstress in New York and her grandfather was Barbadian who worked on the Panama Canal. The play is a reimagining of history, since few details are known.
Clips of the play, and of producers talking about the play are posted on my blog.
March 29, 2020
Lovely and exquisite, much like the fabrics that Esther so expertly sews and that Lynn Nottage so beautifully describes. A real jewel box of a play, full of sadness and quiet longing, resilience and silent hope.
October 25, 2018
"ESTHER: I can't stay. (Begins to leave)
MARKS: Wait, one moment.
(Mr. Marks removes his outer jacket, revealing the fringes of his tallit katan. He cafefully puts on the silk jacket.)
What do you think?
ESTHER: It fits wonderfully.
(Esther takes a step toward Mr. Marks, hesitates, then takes another step forward. She raises her hands.)
May I?
(He nervously holds his breath, then nods yes. Esther reaches toward Mr. Marks, expecting him to move away. But he doesn't. She smoothes the shoulders of the garment, then expertly runs her hands down the jacket's lapels, straightening the wrinkled material. Mr. Marks does not move. Silence. Their eyes fix upon one another. Then Esther reluctantly walks away, exiting his bedroom without a word. Mr. Marks is left alone on stage. He contemplates the moment.
A gentle rag plays. Lights crossfade to Esther's bedroom at Mrs. Dickson's.)
February 19, 2020
Saw a local production and it blew me away. Fantastic script.
May 23, 2022
this play is BEAUTIFUL. there is something so unerringly tender about it. there were a couple of scenes where i felt like weeping in the computer lab of my school, where i read this book in one sitting. it’s very short; if you have a few hours, just read it.
October 20, 2009
Wow. I had a chance to see this wonderful play a few years ago, and passed on it. I'll try not to make that mistake again. The play beautifully portrays the conflicting aspirations of Americans trying to find themselves in New York at the turn into the 20th century.
March 10, 2018
Oh, to be able to write a play like this one.
August 13, 2017
review - tba - -Set in 1905, INTIMATE APPAREL IS about a single Black 35 yr old seamstress and her romantic prospects in NYC. The play stands out to me for its establishing factors - period, class, occupation, and demographic mix of the cast.
Meaning, Lynn Nottage sets this play prior to the harlem renaissance/jazz age; she writes a working-class laborer's story (a seamstress, rather than a performing artist or student). Of courses, the Great Migration from the U.S. South into NYC comprised hundreds of women like Esther; rarely do I encounter representations on the page or stage.
more ... tbc
Meaning, Lynn Nottage sets this play prior to the harlem renaissance/jazz age; she writes a working-class laborer's story (a seamstress, rather than a performing artist or student). Of courses, the Great Migration from the U.S. South into NYC comprised hundreds of women like Esther; rarely do I encounter representations on the page or stage.
more ... tbc
November 14, 2021
Lynn Nottage is one of my abosolute favorite playwrights, and she rewards my loyalty here. Intimate Apparel is the inspiring story of one woman's triumph over her expectations and others', and while the route she travels to this win is poignant, the result is no less beautiful.
As finely crafted as the clothes our heroine works on, this play surprises with its character revelations, and allows for intimate moments to be examined and gently reexamined at every turn. I long for the day I can see this onstage, so I can listen to the audience's reaction throughout.
As finely crafted as the clothes our heroine works on, this play surprises with its character revelations, and allows for intimate moments to be examined and gently reexamined at every turn. I long for the day I can see this onstage, so I can listen to the audience's reaction throughout.
May 31, 2010
What an amazingly moving story. Each character is so clear, and their desires and the frustrations so real. This is the kind of play that makes me want to produce and direct theatre, to insure that others get to experience this play.
May 7, 2017
One of the best plays I've read in ages. Achingly beautiful.
May 13, 2023
This play was well executed, entertaining and interesting to read, and its intentions were clear. The only flaw to it in my opinion would be the shortness of it. I feel like the writer would have developed her feelings and described her relationship with George, Mayme and Mrs Van Buren a bit more and we would’ve gotten a more precise sense of her ancestor’s lives. It felt quite rushed.
December 9, 2021
We were supposed to read this for class but my teacher changed her mind the last minute. I already had the book so I thought why not read it? And honestly it was much better than what we’ve read for class so far. 3.5?
August 25, 2020
Loved. Loved. Loved. “We stood in that church and promised before God to take care of each other.”
February 4, 2023
Just what I needed: a darn tootin' good play!!!
December 9, 2024
# 2024 reading challenge # Read a play written by a woman
November 23, 2024
3.5 stars
September 23, 2022
YEPPP it slays so hard
February 29, 2024
I actually needed to change my rating. WHY DO I STILL THINK ABOUT THESE 60 PAGES. This play is so good that I’m now making a sculpture inspired it.
March 16, 2015
Looking forward to seeing this play performed this summer. It was a well-done and moving story...having just seen some stories about Internet dating scams and debacles, it was interesting to read about "long-distance dating" gone awry at the turn of the 20th century (1905).
June 8, 2015
Beautifully developed characters tell a rich story about the lengths we go to in order to find love. Some events are predictable yet still poignant. The insecurities of the characters are those that all can relate to.
September 23, 2016
I was just at my library when I picked up this play, which honestly was very good. The year is 1905 it is the time of segregation. The main character, Esther, I loved her right away. She's hardworking and in her 30s. George is a piece of crap of a man.
March 10, 2024
This book is very interesting, as it shows people's different conditions of life from different socio-economic backgrounds. Esther, the main character, seems to be constantly fighting for herself, in a world where she is not accepted.
March 4, 2010
It touches every female in the world!
April 17, 2011
Really sharp writing, a poignant, painful story. I love the epigraphs at the close of each act: "Unidentified Negress Seamstress, 1915."
September 3, 2011
This script blew me away and made me cry.
October 8, 2011
Good, not great, but a fine way to spend that time.
February 25, 2013
It was... okay. Interesting, but only okay. This one might be more interesting to see on stage.
August 30, 2013
Read this then saw this at the Mark Taper.
It was the only play I've been to where the audience screamed at the play.
They loved it that much.
It was the only play I've been to where the audience screamed at the play.
They loved it that much.
October 14, 2015
Just re-read it again. And now I'm onto BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews