'Intimate Apparel' Opens At Bay Street Starring Kelly McCreary

In New York in 1905, both black ladies of the night and white upper-class women turn to the talented—and discreet—African-American seamstress 
Esther Mills for lingerie.

Though illiterate, her skills with a sewing machine have afforded her the ability not only to support herself, but also to amass savings to one day fulfill her dream of finding a loving husband and opening a beauty parlor.

Esther, the protagonist of Lynn Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel”—opening Tuesday, July 4, at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater—is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright’s own great-grandmother. The play, which debuted in Baltimore in 2003, earned Ms. Nottage both the American Theatre Critics and New York Drama Critics’ Circle awards for Best Play. She would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 2009’s “Ruined” and again in 2017 for “Sweat,” becoming the first woman to win the award twice. The latter play also got a Tony nod for Best Play.

The latest accolades—a testament to Ms. Nottage’s talent for writing compelling stories and characters who feel real—came after Bay Street had already decided to mount “Intimate Apparel,” and only affirmed that it was smart selection for the theater’s 2017 Mainstage season.

Kelly McCreary, a New York and regional theater veteran as well as a series regular on television’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” stars as Esther.

Speaking over the phone Saturday during a break from rehearsal at Chelsea Studios in Manhattan, Ms. McCreary explained how the experience has been so far, and how excited she is.

“Everyone is just incredibly wonderful,” she said. “The rehearsal process has been a dream. People have come with open hearts and really a lot of passion for this story. And every single one of the characters is so richly drawn that we all have something deep to invest in and we all have really high stakes to play. And that’s the best possible circumstances for a truly creative, truly beautiful collaborative process.”

Edward O’Blenis, whose credits include “Uncle Vanya” and “Tall Grass,” plays opposite Ms. McCreary as Esther’s love interest George, a Caribbean laborer working on the Panama Canal. Their relationship begins via letters, which Esther needs help reading and composing. However, when George eventually arrives in New York, he is revealed to be different from what she had been led to believe.

Ms. McCreary, 35, had been familiar with the play prior to being cast, having seen Roundabout Theater’s off-Broadway production in 2004. But she admitted, “I walked away from that experience understanding the story in a completely different way than I did with 13 more years of life experience under my belt, visiting it again this time.” She said she now has a deeper sense of compassion and empathy for the characters and the complexity of their humanity.

And when she told her friends and colleagues that she was playing Esther Mills, those who knew the play were rapturous, she said.

“People love this play for very good reasons that the Bay Street audience will discover themselves,” Ms. McCreary said.

“I don’t know if this is too grandiose, but I really do think each person who sees this play will have it resonate for a very different reason,” she continued. “Whether they resonate toward the immigrant experience or the question of falling in love, or the question of the agency of women, and particularly black women in this time or the time period in which this play takes place. Or they can resonate with their romantic ideas getting in the way of actually facing reality.”

Bay Street Theater Artistic Director Scott Schwartz directs the show and composer Michael Holland is providing original music. Emilio Sosa has designed the period costumes and Stephen Gabis is the dialect coach, ensuring that the character’s New York, Southern and Caribbean accents are authentic.

Rounding out the cast are Portia (“Ruined,” “McReele”) as Mrs. Dickson, Blake DeLong (“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812”) as Mr. Marks, Julia Motyka (“Travesties”) as Mrs. Van Buren and Shayna Small (“The Colored Museum”) as Mayme.

“This play is so full of beauty and heart,” Ms. McCreary advised theatergoers. “And if they want to come out for a summer night at the theater and have a transporting experience—and one that will make them think and feel deeply and laugh and maybe even cry a little, a completely enriching theatrical experience—I think they should come and see our show.”

“Intimate Apparel” will be staged at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor from July 4 to 30. Showtimes are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. Matinées will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, July 12, 19 and 26, and Sundays, July 16, 23 and 30. Tickets range from $30 to $125. Guests under age 30 may purchase $30 tickets and guests under 20 may pay $20 for tickets, though only at the box office or by phone. Call 631-725-9500 or visit baystreet.org.