The 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama went to Lynn Nottage’s Sweat. The play, about friends and co-workers facing an unstable working environment, has its official opening this week at the Mark Taper Forum. Sweat will run there through October 7th.
In much the same way that Studs Terkel examined the lives of working men and women for Working, Nottage conducted countless interviews with the people of Reading, Pennsylvania – the setting for the play. Those interviews, combined with other research she did, formed the foundation of her play.
In awarding Nottage the Pulitzer Prize, the committee said of Sweat, “For a nuanced yet powerful drama that reminds audiences of the stacked deck still facing workers searching for the American dream.” The other two finalists were Taylor Mac‘s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music and Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves.
Sweat played on Broadway at the Studio 54 Theatre after transferring from the Public Theatre and was nominated for three Tony Awards.
The Los Angeles production is directed by Lisa Peterson. The cast includes Kevin T. Carroll, Grantham Coleman, Will Hochman, John Earl Jelks, Mary Mara, Peter Mendoza, Michael O’Keeefe, Amy Pietz and Portia. Jelks was part of the original Broadway cast.