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Regional Reviews: Phoenix Sweat
Sweat is set in Reading, Pennsylvania, and alternates between events that happened in 2000 and those set in 2008, covering the rise and fallout of economic and social unrest among a group of factory workers. The story revolves around a group of friends who work at a steel plant and is set mainly in a local bar where they regularly gather to celebrate their birthdays and to unwind after work. When layoffs and management changes threaten their livelihoods, tensions flare, leading to resentment, betrayal and violence. At the center of the drama are lifelong friends Tracey and Cynthia, whose bond is tested when one of them is promoted to management. That promotion makes them a target of their friends' frustration. Their sons, Jason and Chris, also find themselves at odds with each other and those around them as tensions in the town escalate; the two are participants in a violent act that has life-altering consequences. Nottage spent two years talking with residents of Reading before writing the play and she has done a good job in crafting a story that focuses on the unraveling relationships of a group of friends impacted by a plant closure and the consequences of decisions driven by fear, anger and survival. However, while the characters are intriguing, some border on archetypes in order to represent specific social or racial issues rather than being fully fleshed-out individuals, and many of the scenes are repetitious in driving home the stereotypical traits of those characters and the uncertainty that a plant closure has on them. Tracey, for instance, represents the anger and resentment that corporate greed and economic disparity can create and the emptiness that happens when someone has worked their entire life at a plant but now finds themselves out of work. Cynthia, while being a slightly more complex character, still has many layers that are underexplored. Similarly, Jason and Chris lack the depth needed to make their fates resonate as strongly as you'd expect from the first scenes when they are both speaking with their probation officer. We know from those first scenes that something horrible happened, and Nottage does a good job of cluing us in to what transpired, but the clues come slowly. A lot of the play is spent covering moments that happened in 2000–only a few scenes are set in 2008 showing the aftermath of those earlier events. Seeing how the main characters have changed over those eight years, some drastically, made me wish there were more of those scenes and that the ones set eight years earlier were shortened in order to fully show the impact of what happened in 2000. I know this play won the Pulitzer Prize, so, while the plot and characters are intriguing and the ending is still moving, I was expecting it to be more riveting than it is and less repetitive. Fortunately, the cast under Chanel Bragg's effective direction are superb. Cindy Covington and Ryan L. Jenkins, who play Tracey and Cynthia, deliver powerhouse performances that capture the complexities of their friendship and the struggles they face. Covington exudes raw anger and unfiltered emotions but also vulnerability as Tracey clings to her livelihood as the world around her is on the brink of collapse. Her fiery confrontations and moments of despair are deeply affecting, and Covington does a fantastic job in adding depth to the character; her Pennsylvanian accent is also quite good. Jenkins is just as good giving a nuanced performance as Cynthia, who has to navigate the difficult transition from co-worker to boss while also dealing with family issues. Jenkins captures Cynthia's internal conflict as she tries to reconcile her loyalty to her friends with her need to support her family, resulting in a portrayal that is moving and empathetic. Equally impressive are the performances of Ty Klassen as Jason and Tanner J. Conley as Chris, the sons of Tracey and Cynthia. Klassen presents Jason as a hot shot full of volatile energy, hardened by disappointment and fueled by misplaced anger. "His physicality and emotional intensity make his downward spiral devastating to watch and also impressively delivered since Klassen has to switch several times to portray the character over the eight-year period. Conley, on the other hand, brings warmth and determination to Chris, who dreams of escaping the factory life through education, only to face crushing setbacks. Together, their performances highlight the generational impact of economic instability and lost opportunities, and the final scene they share with other cast members is heartbreaking. In supporting roles, Walt Pedano is warm and sincere as Stan, the bartender and former factory worker who serves as a voice of reason and a confidant for the play's main characters. Roosevelt Watts Jr. is a bundle of raw emotions as Brucie, Cynthia's estranged husband who descends into addiction due to his unemployment. Ricky Araiza does an excellent job as Oscar, the hardworking Colombian-American busboy at the bar, representing the outsider who is often overlooked and taken for granted by the regulars. Raphael Hamilton is excellent as Evan, the parole officer whose no-nonsense demeanor contrasts with the emotional chaos of the events in Chris and Jason's lives, and Kim Richards does a lovely job in the small role of Jessie, a co-worker of Tracey and Cynthia who drinks heavily to try to escape her lost dreams. Tianna Torrilhon-Wood's set does an excellent job in depicting the bar that the majority of the scenes are set in and, with the smart lighting design by Stacey Walston, works incredibly well with just a few small set elements to portray the other locations in the plot. The costumes by Jessie Tully authentically depict the factory clothes and character-appropriate outfits. Sweat is a stirring and thought-provoking exploration of the struggles faced by America's working class. While it is set 20 years ago, the situations explored are still relevant today and the play has a raw honesty. While I wish the play were tighter and the characters more fully explored, with a stellar cast and an unflinching portrayal of economic and social issues, Stray Cat's production still resonates. Stray Cat Theatre's Sweat runs through December 7, 2024, AT Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe AZ. For tickets and information, please visit straycattheatre.org or call 480 227-1766 Director: Chanel Bragg Cast: (in order of appearance) |
