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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Three elections that matter right now ... The Concord launches ... Mail Tribune 100: Oct. 20, 1915 ... Our View: Three elections that matter right now ... The Concord launches ... Mail Tribune 100: Oct. 20, 1915 ... REVIEW Review: 'Sweat' tells us what we should be sweating Comment By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 2, 2015 at 7:26 PM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 2, 2015 at 7:26 PM » Social News The savvy playgoer enters the theater not knowing what he wants from a new play. But one is always ready for a glimpse of something new. “Sweat,” Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s new play about victimized factory workers in Reading, Penn., is an ensemble piece about a community of working-class people — black, white and brown — struggling against large, impersonal forces. The play, which had its world premiere in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Bowmer Theatre Sunday afternoon, is about the export of American jobs by amoral corporations and the politicians that do their bidding, and the human cost of the decay of American industrial might. Pals Jason (Stephen Michael Spencer), a hot-headed young white man, and Chris (Tramelll Tillman), a level-headed young black man, have been released from prison for a shocking crime that remains a mystery for most of the play. Tracey (Terri McMahon), Jason’s mother, and Cynthia (Kimberly Scott), Chris’s mother, are best friends. All work in the same factory and hang out in the bar presided over by philosophical Stan (an excellent Jack Willis), who turned to bartending after an injury at the plant caused by corporate indifference to safety. He’s assisted by Oscar (Carlo Alban), an American-born son of Dominican immigrants who wants a job in the factory. The big-picture conflict is between workers and the corporation, which is threatening to lock them out or maybe move the whole operation to Mexico if the union won’t cave. On the personal level the central conflict is between Cynthia, who accepts a promotion from “the floor” into management, and Tracey, who is bitter with Cynthia over what she sees as a betrayal. “Sweat” is a "problem play" in the Ibsen sense, not the Shakespeare sense. The problem is the human devastation caused by greedy corporations that don’t give a damn for American workers. Poster children are Brucie (Kevin Kenerly), who has taken to drugs, and Jessie (K.T. Vogt), who drinks. There’s nothing wrong with writing a topical play. Ibsen did it with issues such as patriarchy, STDs and greed. But Ibsen was a genius whose characters had the spark of life. Nottage’s characters give us glimpses of such a spark. “It’s not a great place to work, but it’s work,” says downtrodden Tracey. “How come there’s no White History Month,” says clueless Jason. The cast is first-rate, the acting convincing, and Kate Whoriskey’s direction brisk (there’s a great fight scene). But the grain of sand in Nottage’s oyster was clearly concept, not character. One can see her with a notebook interviewing the good workers of Reading. There’s a sense that the characters are signifiers that Nottage moves about to make her points, sometimes putting expository speeches in their mouths. But it’s stuff we already know. A play’s “meaning” rises organically out of its action and the nature of its world. “Sweat” tells us that corporations are about profits, not people, that Americans place great value on work, that abstract macro-economic maneuverings have a human cost. Well, yes. There’s also a weird sense that the characters are fighting their parents’ battles — Reagan busting the unions. Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama enabling corporations to ship American jobs overseas for profit. In recent years, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and even Detroit have reversed the trend of declining populations, and there’s even talk of a “rust belt chic.” If you’re going to be topical it’s nice to be timely. “Sweat” is highly entertaining, but even with some great performances it feels oddly old hat. Reach freelance writer Bill Varble at varble.bill @gmail.com. By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 2, 2015 at 7:26 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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