School of Theatre and Dance and Loessin Playhouse present ‘Intimate Apparel’

Jessica Crenshaw, guest director of “Intimate Apparel,” is proud of all the hard work the production team and actors have put into their performance. (Photo by Hannah Eccleston)

The East Carolina University School of Theatre and Dance and Loessin Playhouse invite the public to “Intimate Apparel,” showing Wednesday through Sunday.

Take a step back in time to 1905 lower Manhattan and follow Esther, a hard-working woman who experiences “betrayal and heartbreak,” said Jessica Crenshaw, guest director. “The audience can expect a lot of surprises, and a lot of unforeseen twists.”

Esther is a virtuous and hard-working African American woman with a dream of saving enough money to open her own beauty parlor in Manhattan. Her work as a seamstress making intimate apparel brings her in connection with all walks of people, from a lonely Jewish tailer to Fifth Avenue prostitutes.

Esther has kept her nose to the grindstone for 18 years but feels as if life is passing her by. Romance beckons in the form of George Armstrong, a stranger who writes to her from his work on the Panama Canal, and she finds herself falling for his poetic words, even though her friends warn her against his sweet talk.

Crenshaw, who graduated from ECU in May, is excited to be back at the School of Theatre and Dance. “This experience has been eye-opening,” she said. “This is my first full-length play here as the director, and I have really been trying to get out of the student role.”

The production incorporates incredible sets, costumes, lighting and actors. With so many involved, Crenshaw said she worked hard to make it a collaborative space. “I am open to feedback, and I want to make sure my actors and production staff are comfortable and happy.”

“I think all the seats are the best seats in the house,” she said. “Come open and ready to view the performance we have all been working so hard on.”

Crenshaw encourages the audience to be open to the experience because of the stage configuration. Hidden meanings and messages will be found within the show, and the foreshadowing throughout will help the audience to enjoy the production even more, she said.

“Intimate Apparel,” written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, has won various awards with an off-Broadway cast starring Viola Davis.

The show will hit the stage in Archie Burnette Studio Theater inside Messick Hall; the smaller theater gives the performance a more intimate feel, Crenshaw said. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the School of Theatre and Dance website.