Theater News

Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel Opera Announces Casting Ahead of Premiere

The opera is composed by Ricky Ian Gordon.

Lynn Nottage is the author of Intimate Apparel.
Lynn Nottage is the author of Intimate Apparel.
(© Janie Willison)

Lincoln Center Theater has announced casting for the new opera adaptation of Lynn Nottage's award-winning drama Intimate Apparel, featuring a libretto by the playwright and score by Ricky Ian Gordon. Performances begin February 27 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater ahead of an opening on March 23.

The leading role of Esther will be sung by Kearstin Piper Brown, who will perform Tuesday through Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. On Wednesday and Saturday matinees, the role of Esther will be sung by Chabrelle Williams. The full cast includes Dominic Armstrong, Justin Austin, Errin Duane Brooks, Helena Brown, Chanáe Curtis, Adrienne Danrich, Leroy Davis, Matthew Gamble, Arnold Livingston Geis, Christian Mark Gibbs, Tesia Kwarteng, Anna Laurenzo, Justin Lee Miller, Jasmine Muhammad, Naomi Louisa O'Connell, Kimberli Render, and Krysty Swann.

Directed by Bartlett Sher, Intimate Apparel will have choreography by Camille A. Brown, sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Jennifer Tipton, sound by Marc Salzberg, projections by 59 Productions, and musical direction by Steven Osgood.

Intimate Apparel tells the story of Esther, a lonely, single African-American woman who makes her living sewing beautiful corsets and ladies' undergarments. Seeking love and romance, Esther embarks on a letter writing relationship with a mysterious suitor laboring on the Panama Canal, and comes to realize that only her self-reliance and certainty of her own worth will see her through life's challenges.