In just a few short weeks, Lynn Nottage’s “Sweat” and Paula Vogel’s “Indecent” will close on Broadway. This is sad news for theater fans — and especially ones invested in women’s voices. These two productions were the only two new women-penned plays to premiere this Broadway season. “Sweat” won a Pulitzer Prize and and “Indecent” scored two Tony wins, but despite all of their critical acclaim, the plays failed to draw big enough audiences to continue their runs. Both will end June 25, according to The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter.
“Sweat’s” run will have included 24 previews and 105 regular performances. The play about factory workers facing layoffs in Reading, Pennsylvania secured Nottage’s place in herstory. Earlier this year she became the first woman to win a Pulitzer for Drama twice. She previously received the honor in 2009 for “Ruined,” a portrait of “ruined” women — rape survivors and sex workers — in civil war-torn Congo. Nottage’s newest play, “Mlima’s Tale,” is an exploration of the black market for ivory, and is set to premiere Off Broadway at the Public Theater and run from March 27 to May 20, 2018.
When the doors to “Indecent” close, the production will have played 79 performances and 15 previews. Directed by Rebecca Taichman, (who won the Tony for Best Director) the play centers on “God of Vengeance,” a controversial Broadway play that was shut down by police after just one performance in 1923.
“We are so proud and honored to have had the opportunity to introduce Broadway to ‘Indecent’ and the remarkable talents of Paula Vogel, Rebecca Taichman, and this exceptional company of actors and theater artists,” said the play’s producers, Daryl Roth, Elizabeth McCann, and Cody Lassen. “‘Indecent’ has touched the hearts of theater-goers who have experienced the play’s magic at the Cort Theatre for the past three months, and we hope it will continue to do so as it is presented in theaters across in the U.S., Canada, and overseas in the months ahead. ‘Indecent’ is storytelling in the theater at its very best, and we are grateful that this powerful story will live on.”
Even with “Sweat” and “Indecent,” Broadway is sorely lacking in women playwrights. Without them, the scene is truly dire. As far as we can tell, the only woman-written production that made its debut this season and has not closed is “Come from Away,” a musical set in the aftermath of 9/11.
Irene Sankoff co-wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the project.
