Set in Manhattan in 1905, Great Performances: Intimate Apparel tells the story of Esther Mills (Kearstin Piper Brown), a single African American seamstress who makes elaborate corsets and ladies’ undergarments. After beginning a letter-writing relationship with a mysterious laborer on the Panama Canal, she marries, but discovers the relationship is not what either of them expected. Through this romance and other interactions with friends, one of her clients, and the Orthodox Jewish man who sells fabrics to her, Esther realizes that only her self-reliance will see her through life’s challenges. Featuring music by Ricky Ian Gordon, a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottagebased on her play, and direction by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, Great Performances: Intimate Apparel premieres Friday, September 23 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app as part of Great Performances’50th anniversary season.

Sung in English from Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, the production was recorded in March 2022. The opera was developed by Lincoln Center Theater and the Metropolitan Opera as part of the Met/LCT New Works Program. Great Performances: Intimate Apparel cast also includes Justin Austin (George Armstrong), Adrienne Danrich (Mrs. Dickson), Arnold Livingston Geis (Mr. Marks), Naomi Louisa O’Connell (Mrs. Van Buren), and Krysty Swann (Mayme).