Lynn Nottage has a penchant for subtext. Born in Brooklyn and a recent Pulitzer Prize winner, her plays often focus on the personal lives of African Americans, while at the same time create social and political critique relevant to the setting.

Intimate Apparel, which Nottage debuted in 2003 and is currently running at The Heights Players in Brooklyn Heights, revolves around Esther, an African-American, newly 35-year-old seamstress, played by Sandra Williams. She’s single, lonely and depressed, living in a boarding house with her landlady, Mrs. Dickson (Kim Gardner), who acts as a sort of mother-figure. She spends her time sewing new pieces for her primary customer, Mrs. Van Buren (Ashley Herron), as well as for her friend Mayme, a prostitute (Shatara Hale); and having awkwardly flirtatious encounters with her fabric seller, Mr. Marks, a Romanian Orthodox Jew (Hugh Tipping).

Things seem to look up for Esther when she begins receiving letters from a Barbadian day-laborer working on the Panama Canal, the smooth-talking George Armstrong (Luke Forbes). They correspond for some time before George asks her to marry him. She’s delighted and accepts, despite hesitance and caution from her friends.

Set at the turn of the 20th century, the play comments heavily on the socioeconomic and cultural politics of the time, its characters giving voice to their respective subcultures. Mrs. Van Buren, part of the upper crust elite, belongs to a class of women who have married men with money and are fiscally taken care of, but miserable with their inattentive husbands. Mayme, a sort of foil to Mrs. Van Buren, is poor, black and up to her elbows in men; she dreams of a better life for herself, one that she can’t — or maybe won’t — achieve.

Esther in one scene ponders that Mrs. Van Buren and Mayme each want what the other has (keeping the two in near-identical lingerie throughout the play is a stroke of genius), and Mayme is quick to point out that her wealthy white counterpart can afford to divulge in the fantasy Mayme actually has to live.

George, seduced by the descriptions of New York that Esther gives him in her letters (or rather, that Mrs. Van Buren and Mayme give him, since they write them to help hide Esther’s illiteracy), decides to join her in the city, confident that he’ll be living the good life. When things don’t work out that way, he turns to booze and women, flying into rages representing the frustration immigrants often faced — and still face — when first in America.

Esther’s relationship with Mr. Marks illustrates the racial and religious barriers that are of the time, but, to an extent, continue even today. There is a strange mutual attraction, one that they both recognize, but that they also know can never come to fruition.

The Heights Players, now in their 54th season, bring Esther’s story to life beautifully. The set design, spearheaded by veteran Bill Wood, seems elaborate even in its simplicity, considering the small size of the venue. The hodge-podge of vintage furniture lends an air of authenticity to the age, and Gina Healy, another Players’ vet, has created the perfect contrast between the plainness of the age and the extravagance of the clothes Esther makes.

Of course, none of this would make a difference without the excellent performances given by the cast. All troubled at heart, the characters are portrayed in such a way that allows the audience to feel the pangs brought on by their distress.

Williams’ is really the standout performance. There is a naïve, childlike quality to Esther, one that Williams portrays with wonderful poise. Esther is constantly closed in on herself, and Williams keeps her vaguely hunched over, looking out with wounded and hopeful eyes. On the occasions she truly lets her emotions manifest themselves outwardly, she does so with her whole body; she’s just about ready to burst with the news of her engagement. You’ll want Esther to be happy, and after everything she’s put through, you may just find yourself shedding a tear or two for our sad heroine.

Intimate Apparel is running November 13, 14, 20 and 21 at 8 p.m., and November 15 and 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 each, or $13 for seniors and children under 12. You can reserve tickets at (718) 237-2752.

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