THE PLAYS

Stay tuned for more information about tickets!

 From playwright Mfoniso Udofia: “I am thrilled to announce the production of the first two plays of the Ufot Cycle this season. Sojourners serves as the origin story within this 9-play cycle, introducing Abasiama, my matriarch – a dynamic and forward-thinking woman from whom an entire Nigerian lineage in America will emerge. I hope this play and Abasiama snatch your heart. She sure caught mine.”

From Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco: “This launches a city-wide Cycle of plays with a host of thrilling producing colleagues who will come together in the Spring to share more with you on this one of a kind two season celebration. If you want rich family stories, if you want plays with soaringly poetic dialogue, if you want plays that change the way you see the world, I can’t wait for you to fall madly in love with the work of Mfoniso Udofia, one of the most theatrically ambitious artists I have had the pleasure of working with. Mfoniso started work on this cycle a decade ago, and we have collaborated on acclaimed premieres of her plays all over the country – yet it feels so right to have her plays return here to her hometown on a canvas as vast as Mfoniso’s creative imagination. Here in her origin story, Sojourners, we meet the matriarch of the family, Abasiama, as she attempts to further her college education and encounters American culture for the first time.”

From playwright Mfoniso Udofia:  “The second play in the Ufot Family Cycle, The Grove, holds a special place in my heart as it was the first play I ever wrote. Following Adiaha, Abasiama’s daughter, as she navigates coming of age, The Grove explores the delicate balance between personal desires and the traditions of the close-knit Nigerian community she holds dear. I hope you enjoy these initial two plays, the beginning of a journey through nine unique plays!” 

From Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco: “Much like August Wilson’s cycle plays, each play within Mfoniso’s cycle stands brilliantly on its own, prompting new questions, ideas, and conversations. The Grove leaps forward in time and invites us to Abasiama’s daughter, Adiaha’s college graduation party complete with the magnificently interwoven dreams and hopes of her parents, uncles, siblings, and friends. Coming to a head with Adiaha in the center, with a chorus of ancestors guiding her towards claiming for the first time in her life ‘this is who I am.’ You will be moved and changed by the journey, and I can’t wait to share it with you.” 

Michael Goodfriend, Head of Scripted Fiction at Next Chapter Podcasts: “Mfoniso Udofia’s storytelling genius should be experienced by as many people as possible and in as many mediums as possible. It’s a privilege for Next Chapter Podcasts to be working with Mfoniso on runboyrun, building on the fruitful collaboration we shared in the award-winning podcast adaptation of her Othello translation for Play On Shakespeare. Mfoniso challenges us to perceive our reality in new ways and reminds us of what it is to be human, in all our complexity, promise and fallibility. We are honored to help realize runboyrun as an audio production alongside all of the incredible producing and organizational partners who are helping to bring Mfoniso’s groundbreaking Ufot Family Cycle to life.”

Michael Colford, Director of Library Services at Boston Public Library: “The Boston Public Library is incredibly excited to partner again with The Huntington on such an ambitious and innovative project alongside such a diverse and wonderful group of community organizations. This exciting and varied cycle of plays allows communities to experience a wide range of experiences to absorb and to share.”

Susan Goldberg, President and CEO of GBH: “We are honored to join with The Huntington and their citywide partners for the celebration of Mfoniso Udofia’s Ufot Family Cycle. This ambitious undertaking brings together an incredible cohort of partners across the culture sector, shining a light on the immigrant experience through both art and community. We look forward to playing a role in its success.”

Lee Mikeska Gardner, Artistic Director of Central Square Theater: “Collaboration is in Central Square Theater’s DNA. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Front Porch Arts Collective and other organizations across the region to bring Mfoniso Udofia’s world to our stages. Her Portmanteau is a beautiful chamber play about three tenacious women, and it’s a perfect fit for us.” 

Maura Tighe, Boston Arts Academy Artistic Director: “We are eager to explore this relationship with The Huntington, Ms. Udofia, and her amazing play, Kufre n’ Quay. The project is an opportunity for our students to engage in high level art making and also explore work that is culturally relevant to their lives. The experience is going to be phenomenal for our kids.”

Nick Vargas, Executive Director Wheelock Family Theatre: “Wheelock Family Theatre is excited to partner on the Ufot Family Cycle! This historic initiative will provide audiences from Greater Boston & beyond with the opportunity to experience and celebrate the work of Mfoniso Udofia.”

Megan Sandberg-Zakian, Artistic Director of Boston Playwrights’ Theatre: “Boston Playwrights’ Theatre is dedicated to the voice and vision of the playwright – and so nothing could be more exciting to us than participating in a hugely ambitious project designed to uplift the voice and vision of an extraordinary (and locally grown!) writer like Mfoniso. We are honored and delighted to be a part of the laboratory in which the Ufot Family cycle is nurtured, and we are particularly thrilled that so many of the plays will be first or second productions of new work.”

Harvey Young, Dean of Boston University College of Fine Arts: “I am inspired by Loretta Greco’s vision to bring Boston’s theatre community together. As both a longtime collaborator with The Huntington and the sponsor of two Boston professional theatres—Wheelock Family Theatre and Boston Playwright’s Theatre, Boston University is thrilled to join in this celebration of new work and transformative artistry.”

Marta Rainer, Wellesley Repertory Theatre Artistic Director: ” We Wellesley College graduates who have been galvanized by the impactful possibilities within the field of live performing arts are Wellesley Rep. We who strive to connect with, teach, encourage, and gather our communities through the sharing of our complex theatrical work define Wellesley Rep as a global and multigenerational repertory of autonomous makers, striding our unique creative paths from the shared starting point of Wellesley College. Mfoniso embodies this mission so exquisitely – so inspiringly! – and we are extremely honored to support this expansive collaboration with our producing peers to share her artistic voice and vision.”

Ronee Penoi, Interim Executive Director of the Office of the Arts and ArtsEmerson and Director of Artistic Programming: “ArtsEmerson is delighted to be in partnership with our friends at Front Porch Collective to support In Old Age as part of the Ufot Family Cycle. At ArtsEmerson we are committed to uplifting stories that inspire civic transformation and celebrate the diasporas that make up our city. We also know we can’t do this work alone and we are so excited to join The Huntington and all the other producers and partners to embark on this beautiful collaboration for the city and community we love.”

Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Co-Producing Artistic Director of Front Porch Arts Collective: “The Porch was built through collaborations, partnership and community, dedicated to uplifting stories of Black culture both in this country and around the world. We are thrilled to be in community with all the company producing the Ufot Family Cycle, and overjoyed to be embarking on or first co-production with ArtsEmerson, a company we’ve admired for so long, with In Old Age. In Old Age tells the story of Abasiama, later in life, beautiful story of a Nigerian woman later in life who must cleanse her past if she is to embark on a newfound romance.”

Nina Yoshida Nelsen, Boston Lyric Opera Artistic Director: “Co-producing Adiaha and Clora Snatch Joy with The Huntington is going to make an exhilarating end to the Ufot Family Cycle project. Mfoniso’s brilliant, expansive series tells the kind of rich story we love bringing to audiences. This striking folk opera will be a unique and uplifting addition to BLO’s artistic offerings. As the only Ufot Family Cycle production with singing, we are delighted to participate in this epic collaboration across Boston’s theatrical institutions.”