Tony Winner Viola Davis to Star in Roundabout’s Apparel

The Roundabout Theatre Company will present Viola Davis as Esther in the New York premiere of Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage for a limited engagement; previews will begin on March 17, the official opening is set for April 8, and the show will run through May 30. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, this production will inaugurate the Laura Pels Theatre in the new Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, located at 111 West 46th Street.

The design team for Intimate Apparel includes Catherine Zuber (costumes) and Allen Lee Hughes (lights); additional production staff will be announced shortly. Set in New York City in the early years of the 20th century, the play concerns an African-American seamstress who marries a Caribbean man even though she knows him only through an exchange of romantic letters.

The Steinberg Center is the Roundabout’s new Off-Broadway home. Located on the former site of the American Place Theatre, it has two performance venues: The 425-seat Laura Pels Theatre will house new plays by established writers while a second, 75-seat black box space will be used for more experimental works as well as workshops, readings, and student productions.