Pulitzer Prize-winning play highlights working-class identity amid industry collapse and change.
The shuttering of an industrial plant is the central conflict of “Sweat,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning work of playwright Lynn Nottage. The play, set to premiere Dec. 3 at the University Theatre, will close out the Theatre Department’s fall season.
Set in the industrial town of Reading, Pennsylvania, “Sweat” follows a group of friends whose lives are intertwined with a local steel tubing mill—an anchor of family tradition, stability, and identity. The play moves between the “Y2K” scare and the 2008 global financial crisis, tracing how economic decline reshapes their relationships and sense of self.
“Sweat” is the second of Nottage’s works to run this year. The department kicked off the season in October with a production of “Clyde’s” at the Edison Theatre.
Set at a truck-stop sandwich shop staffed by formerly incarcerated workers, “Clyde’s” explores how people rebuild their identities while navigating low-wage labor, corporate pressure and limited opportunities. Both works highlight Nottage’s interest in everyday Americans pushed to the margins.
Director and Theatre faculty Kelly Herman told The Bulletin that Nottage’s work was chosen because of its emotional depth and contemporary relevance.
“The beauty of her stories, the vulnerability of her characters, and humanity she expresses has such relevance to the social/political climate we live in today,” said Herman.
The script is grounded in realism—far from escapist theatre. Its characters navigate addiction, job loss, and fractured friendships. “This isn’t ‘Cats’ at all, this is the real deal,” said Jabari Williams Jr., a senior theatre student.
Williams, who plays Bruce, said his character is a flawed but resilient man who tries not to let hardship change who he is.
“Bruce, even with the demons that he’s fighting, he still looks for the best in certain people,” Williams said. “It’s kind of great to learn from this play, how to correct the mistakes that you made in the past and how we can move forward as a better society today.”
Williams added that the economic struggles depicted in the play feel familiar to audiences today.
“When it comes to the economy, you can definitely see the parallels of what happened in the early 2000s and today,” Williams said. “There might be new drugs and new brands of alcohol people are addicted to now, but the struggles you see today are the same in this play. That realness makes the experience of watching a theater production like this more immersive.”
Although Williams primarily worked in short films, he said performing live has pushed him to grow as an actor.
“On stage, you have to be larger than life. You have to make sure that the audience feels what your character is feeling or expressing. It forces you to learn from different perspectives and understand humanity as a whole, good and bad.”
Blue-collar themes take center stage
Through “Sweat,” Nottage examines how corporate America exploits blue-collar workers and how losing a job can mean losing one’s identity. During a late-night rehearsal, a scene between Tracey and Oscar captured the resentment and frustration that run through the play.
Outside the neighborhood bar, Tracey—played by Megan Miller—vented about being passed over for a promotion at the Olstead tubing plant. Oscar, played by Joshua Salas, works as a barback and is the only Latino character in the play.
“All the shops were full. People used to get dressed up just to go downtown, and everyone was beautiful,” said Miller as Tracey. “back when, if you worked with your hands, people respected you.”