Sparks may have cashed in on the use of love letters in ‘The Notebook’ and ‘Message in a Bottle,’ but the letters of Lynn Nottage would hardly qualify as fodder for dime novels.

Nottage’s reticent play, ‘Intimate Apparel,’ seemingly casts another lovelorn, letter-sending duo. Then it becomes clear the main character, Esther, is completely illiterate. Her beau, George, is a boorish canal digger paying a nobleman to compose his letters. On top of it all, the amorous pair faces racial prejudice and destitution in a marriage inspired by bundles of fabricated notes.

The experiences of Esther and her attempts at true love are the basis of ‘Intimate Apparel,’ which opened at Syracuse Stage last weekend. Set in lower Manhattan circa-1905, Nottage’s work taps into the black ‘tenderloin’ district known for its honky tonks, ragtime piano music and overpopulated residences.

More importantly, Nottage wrote her play to capture the potent qualities of city inhabitants.

‘They were the people listed in the classified ads, who poured into New York City in huge numbers at the turn of the last century,’ Nottage said in a personal narrative titled ‘Lives Rescued from Silence.’ The citizens hoped to ‘transcend the scars of slavery and oppression,’ she added.

Large curtains of twisted fabric cascaded from the ceiling, a steel-framed bed supported sprawled bodies and an old sewing machine jutted from one corner of the stage as symbols of Esther’s lifelong search for intimacy.

Esther, played by actress Nikki Walker, is a seamstress and 35-year-old virgin grappling with her singleton status and approaching spinsterhood. Forlorn and frustrated, the threads of her practical life begin to unravel when she receives a letter from a former male acquaintance in Panama.

George Armstrong, played by actor Brian Wilson, reaches out to Esther through a series of letters emphasizing his work ethic and chastity. Esther is only able to read them through the aid of three close girlfriends, who help her draft replies. The play was designed so that the couple stood next to each other as George read his eloquent responses aloud; simultaneously, audience members witnessed Esther’s facial reactions.

Jessica Weis, an Upstate Medical University student, found these letter dialogues particularly impressive, and said it offered a new dynamic to the show.

‘It’s interesting how they’re pulling off the communication by letter,’ Weis said. ‘It’s original – I’ve never heard of anything like that before. You keep guessing about what’s going to happen with Mr. Marks.’

Esther’s courtship to George is complicated by her growing physical attraction to Mr. Marks – played by Jeff Weins – a Jewish fabric salesman who shares her passion for expensive cloth. Their friendship grows into affection, even though Marks’ religion prohibits him from touching an unmarried woman.

Three powerful females counsel Esther during the turbulent moments of her relationship. These characters include a vivacious prostitute named Mayme (played by Rachel Leslie), her nosy landlady Mrs. Dickson (played by Lizan Mitchell) and one of Esther’s wealthy white customers, Mrs. Van Buren (played by Amy Lynn Stewart).

Weiss said these colorful supporting roles added elements of personal interpretation to the play’s storyline.

‘I like how she’s gotten advice from three different people – you get their opinion on the situation,’ Weiss said.

The greatest conflicts in Ester’s life surface when she realizes George’s noble claims of discipline are unfounded, as he starts tapping into Esther’s savings for a beauty parlor. Her hopes for a real marriage disintegrate as she discovers her despotic husband is looking for love outside of the home.

Ruined expectations about marriage place a continual strain on the couple’s hopes for the future, and at one point Esther admits, ‘We’re more strangers now than the eve of our wedding – at least I knew who I was back then.’

As her marriage and relationships with Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren also begin to unravel, the end of the play leaves Esther more alone and more distraught than its beginning.

Syracuse resident Donna Bome described the bitter disappointments of Esther’s life as opportunities to break free from tradition.

‘She had to say ‘This doesn’t work’ – you have to be true to yourself,’ Bome said. ‘She said she had never been with anyone, and didn’t know what she was giving up until it was gone.’

Karen Everitz, another Syracuse resident and Bome’s companion, said she used the play as an opportunity to move the focus from Esther to her own personal life.

‘As a woman, you can relate to their life, and you find yourself asking would I do that (in her position) or not?’ she said.

Published on March 1, 2006 at 12:00 pm