Amid headlines boasting about the booming economy of the late 1990s, social critic Barbara Ehrenreich made a first-hand inspection of the underside of this prosperity. Forsaking her comfortable middle-class existence as a writer, she took several service jobs, as a waitress in Florida, as a cleaning lady and a nursing home attendant in Maine, and as a stockperson at Mall-Mart, to determine whether she could survive on this salary. Through Nov. 9, the Brava Theater presents playwright Joan Holden’s adaptation of these experiences.

The play demonstrates a fact that many of us already know: it is incredibly difficult to afford the necessities of life on these low wages. As a maid,
Ehrenreich discovers that one of her co-workers can only afford to eat a bag of chips for lunch. Another maid is forced to lock her son in his room because she can no longer afford paying for adequate childcare. Similarly, at another job, her co-worker has lost all of her front teeth because she has never had any decent health care.

As we Bay Area residents know well, one of the most dramatic costs one must face is that of adequate housing. A low-wage worker must spend a great deal of her income on rent. Additionally, because poor people do not have enough savings to pay a deposit on an apartment, they must actually spend more to live in worse conditions than wealthy people. Thus, her co-workers inhabit housing cramped with too many people, which are often unhealthy and abusive, such as one waitress who must constantly fend off her roommate’s sexual advances. Another sleeps in her van, using a friend’s motel bathroom to get ready for work.

Beyond this economic misery, the play focuses on the servility inculcated by these service jobs. A low-wage worker’s main task is to pick up the droppings, the pubic hair and discarded clothing of others. A wealthy matron insults Ehrenreich’s human dignity, rudely condescending to her about the correct way to wash windows. Furthermore, these jobs invade her human body, forcing her to take urine tests to prove her abstinence from drugs, as well as invading her human spirit, forcing her to take personality tests to prove her unquestioning acceptance of management’s authority and her disdain for unions.

Playwright Holden has done a remarkable job with her adaptation, tying together Ehrenreich’s rich critical analysis into an engaging, lively, often riotously funny drama. Sharon Lockwood’s portrayal of Ehrenreich is complemented by an incredible ensemble cast who convincingly portray the myriad different personalities that Ehrenreich encounters during her careers.

The play also dares to break the wall separating the audience from the drama, interrupting the action to question the audience about the roles they have played as employers or as service workers.

“Nickel and Dimed” does an excellent job telling a story that is so infrequently told, even though so many people actually live through it.

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