Step inside the world of Sweat with a curated playlist.
The only song that Nottage specifically mentions in her play is "Smooth" by Santana. Following the tracks of this iconic 2000 chart topper, our sound designer and director began compiling their own top songs from the play's time period. They combed the top 100 songs for the years 2000 and 2008.
"The trick," sound designer Virginia Wulf told me, "is finding songs that bring us back to the year they were popular without being so beloved they're distracting. Britney Spear's "Oops...I Did it Again" was number 55 in 2000, but there's no way anyone could pay attention to a scene with that song in the background.
"We debated how hip to be for a while. You have this interesting situation, where there are people hanging out in a bar and we know more or less what they would have been hearing on the radio. But in the stage directions, you also see a reference to a jukebox, which opens the possibility for older music too. Especially since you have a mix of generations - parents hanging out with their kids.
"Ultimately we decided to go with contemporary music. Since Nottage specifically references "Smooth" we figured that meant the jukebox was being kept up to date. And music that was popular at the time can really help ground the audience. It's hard to believe that some of these songs are almost twenty years old."
When asked if she ever broke the time period rules with her song choices, Wulf laughs.
"Only one. I kept "Gold Digger" by Kanye even though it came out in 2005. It's just such a great song. I feel like it would stay in the jukebox until 2008."
Listen here: SWEAT
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