“Intimate Apparel,” now playing at Northlight Theatre, is a unique romantic drama that is sure to leave your heart bursting at the seams. Set in 1905, the play by Lynn Nottage follows Esther, a young, talented Black seamstress who spends her days sewing saucy lingerie to spice up the love lives of wealthy clients, yet spends her own nights alone. Like a Harlequin Romance novel come to life, the play finds every character hemmed in by their circumstances, whether it be race, religion, age, gender or status.
Prim and proper Esther (played with lovey nuance by Mildred Marie Langford) worked her way out of poverty, but at the ripe old age of 35 finds herself a spinster. Gripped with social anxiety and crushing insecurities about her plain appearance, she feels unequipped to woo a suitor in the traditional fashion. Much to her surprise, a handsome stranger begins writing her letters from afar, and she begins to dream about love for the first time.
