The play opens with the demure Esther Mills (Tramaine Stovell) entering her room and sitting down at her sewing machine.

Esther, the daughter of freed slaves, has lived in the boarding house, which is owned by Mrs. Dickson (Lesley Wharton), for 18 years since coming to New York City.

The date is 1905 and on her bed is an old patchwork quilt.

Behind her room, is the shop, which is set on the fifth floor of a walk-up, and is owned by the Romanian Jew Mr. Marks (Phillip Jones).

To the right of that is the posh dressing room of Mrs. Van Buren (Debbie Pharoah).

In the front of this and on the lower level was the room of the prostitute Mayme (Kendia Gill), it had an upright piano that she dreamed of Prague on, and a shabby bed to the right.

Occasionally popping out of a door, which was the imaginary scene of the Panama Canal, where George Armstrong (Devaune Ratteray) wrote and read from.

Mrs. Dixon enters Esther's room excited about the wedding of one of the girls in the boarding house, but the seamstress admits that the marriage only reminds her that she is essentially an old maid — 35 years old and not married.

Esther found a way to make a living designing mainly corsets for rich white women and black prostitutes.

But she is not without a dream, and one day plans to own a beauty parlour of her own, where black women will be treated like queens, and for all the years she has been sewing, she saved a little in her quilt to make that dream a reality.

Esther is sincere, intelligent and modest and with all the characters, she builds multi-faceted relationships with the women in her life, Mrs. Dickson, Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren, who all love her in one way or another, and vice versa.

Then there is the love she shares with shopkeeper Mr. Marks, they have touching moments in which today's woman or man would not have wasted, but he is promised to someone he never met in Romania and, in 1905, being a mixed race couple was out of the question.

But all is not lost and George Armstrong enters her life via romantic letters from Panama, where he is working.

This becomes a great excitement and diversion for her and the people around her. Finally she too has someone, but who is he, who is she really, who is Mrs. Van Buren, Mrs. Dixon, Mayme and Mr. Marks?

The cast is spot on, and Miss Stovell, whose only other role was in Gilbert & Sullivan's 'Dream Girls', carries her part as the innocent and hopeful virgin. Mr. Ratteray had the Bajan accent and facial expressions down like a native, he was the perfect pen pal lover and when he came to America he was convincing as he changed his personality.

Mr. Jones captured the accent of a Jewish immigrant as he tells Esther tales and lore about almost every piece of fabric.

Ms Pharoah shone beautifully as a woman in a childless and loveless marriage and Miss Gill was the perfect little prostitute, who looked for love in all the wrong places, while Miss Wharton was the gossip extraordinaire.

First time director Jenny Burrell and her crew did a marvellous job of pulling this play together.

It was seamless and there was only one set change in the entire show.

Special notice must also be given to costume designer Barbara Jones for her insight and ability to create the timely garments.

On opening night, "Intimate Apparel" received a standing ovation from the audience and I for one am planning another visit, when I can just simply enjoy it and not critique it.

Tickets, $25, are available at Daylesford from 7 to 8 p.m. and at www.boxoffice.bm. The show runs until May 17.