Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel follows Esther, who has a gift for alteration. The sensuous corsets she creates are the talk of turn-of-the-century New York, from uptown boudoirs to downtown bordellos. Determined to reshape her own life as well, the African-American seamstress chances romance with a stranger known only through his enticing letters. As the worlds of intimacy and illusion converge, this poignant, affectionate portrait explores tradition, identity, and a woman’s place in a
man’s world. Anthony J. Haney directs.