Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
Setting: Manhattan in 1905
There will be one 15 minute Intermission

February 20-22, 2025 @ 7:30pm
February 23, 2025 @ 2:00pm

 I first saw Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel at the Unicorn Theatre in 2007. Sitting in the audience, I experienced a world of yearning characters and beautiful garments. To revisit this award-winning play so many years later as a director—and with this cast—is a special delight. At the beginning of our process in early January, we talked about the things people conceal and the things they reveal. But as life carried on in the world outside—the one beyond the rehearsal room—I found myself drawn to other ideas: vulnerability, desirability, diversity… New York City even in 1905 was a bustling epicenter vibrant with variety, filled with the stories of migrants and immigrants from all over. Nottage’s play, set in a variety of private rooms, brilliantly breaks down the walls between them. Esther’s work takes her from one cultural enclave to another. The seamstress, like the artist in society, is able to traverse boundaries and see people in their most bare state. Though that doesn’t make her life easier, it certainly makes the story of her life richer. So, what do a widow landlord, a wealthy socialite, a fabric merchant, a prostitute, and manual laborer, a seamstress have in common? They all want to be seen and known. They all want to belong somewhere and to someone. 

~ Teresa Leggard 

LIMITED SEATING!!

Goppert Performing Arts Center
in the Frantze Family Blackbox Theatre
Avila University
109 E 118th St,
Kansas City, MO 64105

Special Acknowledgments

• Albert Macias
• Belinda Troxler
• Shelby Warren
• Advancement Office: Patti Long
• Great Western Dining
• Maintenance and Housekeeping
• Office of Marketing and Communication
• Student Access Office 

Laureate Circle of Arts

These donors have generously supported
the arts at Avila University with cumulative giving in excess of $50,000 over their lifetime, specifically in support of arts facilities and art programs at the University. We are immensely grateful for their contributions.

• Mrs. Jean M. ’76, ’18 & Mr. William M. ’18 Buchanan
• Constance M. Cooper Charitable Foundation
• Roderick J. & Jo Anne Cyr Foundation
• Mr. Joseph T. ’16 & Mrs. Susan Fahey
• Mr. David W. ’76 & Mrs. Geri Frantze
• Vita Goppert Charitable Trust
• Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation
• William T. Kemper Foundation
• The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, Inc.
• Oppenstein Brothers Foundation
• Victor E. & Caroline E. Schutte Foundation
• Victor E. Speas Foundation
• The Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts
• The Sunderland Foundation
• Mr. James & Dr. Sue King Willcox ’79
• Mr. Edward & Mrs. Mary Agnes Thornhilland Family:
  • Ms. Jill E. Thornhill,
  • Ms. Margot A. Thornhill,
  • Mr. Mark A. Thornhill,
  • Mr. Thomas Thornhill,
  • Mr. Robert & Mrs. Mary Ellen Dick

Friends

•  Mrs. Roshonda J. Davis-Cheadle ’91 
• Ms. Laurie Dearing 
• Mrs. Rose Marie Falco ’47 
• Leah K. Gensheimer, Ph.D. 
• Mrs. Hillary and Prof. Matt Harbor 
• Dr. Paige Illum, Ph.D. 
• Ms. Christina LiVecchi 
• Patti Long 
• Dr. Amy and Mr. Nick Milakovic 
• Allison Ouellette 
• Mr. Gerald M. Palmer ’02 
• Prof. Benjamin D. Pascoe M.F.A. 
• Dr. Marcia C. Pasqualini, Ph.D. 
• Dr. Regina M. Staves, Ph.D. ’95 
• Susan Winters 

Avila Theatre Gifts

• Dr. Felicia Hardison Londré
• Ms. Belinda R. Troxler ’88

Patrons

•  Dr. James Burkee, Ph.D. 
• Dr. Bryan DePoy 
• Mary Beth Farrell 
• Mr. Richard and Dr. Charlene Gould, Ph.D., CSJA 
• Great Western Dining Service, Inc. 
• Dr. Lawrence C. Marsh 
• Suzanne and Dr. Jeffrey Myers 
• Dr. Jordan Wagge & Mr. Richard Snedegar 

Sponsors

•   Dr. Alexandra and Bill Adams 
• Ms. Shirley Loesch 
• Sue Ellen McCalley, Ph.D. 
• Rob M. Scoles ’88 
• Mr. David & Mrs. Ginny Woy 
• KC Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet 
  • Helen Alder, CSJ 
  • Laverne Aufmuth, CSJ 
  • Ann Charles Everett, CSJ 
  • Rosemary Flanigan, CSJ 
  • Marie Joan Harris, CSJ* 
  • Jeanne Janssen, CSJ* 
  • Mary Frances Johnson, CSJ* 
  • Ann Landers, CSJ 
  • Mary Margaret Lazio, CSJ* 
  • Mary Kay Liston, CSJ 
  • Patricia Lorenz, CSJ 
  • Shawn Madigan, CSJ* 
  • Mary McKay, CSJ 
  • Rose McLarney, CSJ 
  • Marilyn Peot, CSJ 
  • Gabrielle Smits, CSJ 
  • Ruth Stuckel, CSJ 
  • Rita Francis Volvedich