'Nickel and Dimed': affirmation for working class

Anyone who has ever had to work two jobs just to make ends meet, had to put up with anal, overbearing managers or has smiled and politely told someone to have a nice day right after he insulted your intelligence can claim a small victory in the perpetual class struggle.

Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist interested in women's issues, went undercover for three months, in three different cities, to experience just how difficult it is to get by in America living at -- or even slightly above -- the poverty level. She wrote a best-selling novel called Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Joan Holden then adapted the novel for the stage; this play will run through Aug. 25 at the Intiman.

Political theater rarely engages me on a personal level; however, Nickel and Dimed manages to present social problems in a funny and personal way that couldn't help but relate to me on some level. Using an ensemble cast, the show follows Barbara's three-month ordeal as she works as a waitress, a house-cleaner and an employee at "Mall"-Mart, among other things.

There is something triumphant about watching ordeals I have suffered through portrayed on stage and exposed for what they truly are. Ehrenreich's findings are clear: Minimum wage is not enough for anyone to live off of, let alone raise a family with. It is nearly impossible for poor, hard-working women to raise a child on $7.00 an hour; yet the government declares these families to be above the poverty line.

While this was not the most intense or profound show that I have ever seen, I was thoroughly entertained for two hours as the actors revealed the truth of the conditions of unskilled labor in America. The greatest triumph of this play, however, lies in the audience it reaches. The theater was filled with older, middle to upper class (mainly) white people -- many of whom sheepishly admitted, when prompted by the actors, that they themselves had hired housemaids. (Although they, of course, paid them more than $7.00 an hour.)

It's one thing to tell college students that working a minimum wage job is hard -- they already know that. It's quite another thing to tell the well-off that their comforts come at the expense of hardworking, underpaid people.

Sharon Lockwood (Barbara) proficiently leads an ensemble cast; however, I was not terribly moved by the acting, which was, at times, overshadowed by the live instrumentalist on stage. While it was not gripping theater, I did leave thinking -- not only about the problems that were presented, but also about what I could do to help solve them.

When I return to my job Monday, I won't expect customers to appreciate what I am doing for them any more than they did on Friday, but maybe, if they saw the show, they'll tip just a bit better.