(Cover Photo: Abigail C. Onwunali as “Adiaha” in an emotional moment from "THE GROVE" by Mfoniso Udofia, presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood/Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 9, 2025. Photo Credit: Marc J. Franklin)


By Kevin T. Baldwin

METRMAG Reviewer

# 774-242-6724

"I...Adiaha...am...am the thumb on the hand of a very long arm."   

                                                       - ("Adiaha.") / Mfoniso Udofia

Huntington Theatre Company

Presents Mfoniso Udofia's

"THE GROVE"

Written by Mfoniso Udofia

Directed by Awoye Timpo

Choreography by Adesola Osakalumi

Cast Includes: Patrice Johnson Chevannes* as “Abasiama Ufot,” Abigail C. Onwunali* as “Adiaha Ufot,” Joshua Olumide* as “Disciple Ufot,” Amani Kojo as “Ekong Ufot,”   Aisha Wura Akorede as “Toyoima Ufot,” Paul-Robert Pryce* as “Udosen Udoh,”   Maduka Steady* as “Godwin Inyang,” Valyn Lyric Turner* as “Kimberly Gaines.”   

The women who comprise Adiaha’s ancestral line are portrayed by: Ekemini Ekpo, Janelle Grace, Patrice Jean-Baptiste*, Chibuba Bloom Osuala, Dayenne Walters as Shadows.        

Understudies include: Rebekah Brunson, Ekemini Ekpo, Janelle Grace, Patrice Jean-Baptite*, Maduka Steady*, Chibuba Bloom Osuala, Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Kandyce Whittingham, and Sharmarke Yusuf.

Additional Creative Team: 

Scenic Design - Jason Ardizzone-West; Costume Design - Sarita Fellows; Lighting Design - Reza Behjat; Sound Design and Original Music by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen; Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design - Earon Chew Nealey; Assistant Directors - Rebekah Brunson and Kandyce Whittingham; Dramaturgs - Charles Haugland and Donnetta Lavinia Grays; Intimacy Coach - Dr. Ayshia Mackie-Stephenson; Fight Director - Jesse Hinson; Vocal and Dialect Coach - Dawn-Elin Fraser; Language Consultant - Emmanuel Sylvester; Cultural Consultant - Ademola Bello; Production Stage Manager - Emily F. McMullen; Stage Manager - Lauren J. Burke; Casting - Janet Foster.

Calderwood / Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston MA 02116 

Performances: 

February 7, 2025 through March 9, 2025 

(Contact Box Office for Exact Times) 

TICKETS:

Available online at huntingtontheatre.org, by phone at 617-266-0800 or in person at THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston. 

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COVID 19 PROTOCOLS

Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.

Huntington Theatre Company continues its participation in an unprecedented two-year, multiple theatre, 9-play celebration with the second entry in the “Ufot Family Cycle” series, "THE GROVE."  

Being only the second entry makes one wonder where they will take the saga from here as this production was absolutely spectacular.

The combined performances and level of creativity involved throughout the engaging story is simply off the charts. 

Mfoniso Udofia created this epic 9-play “Ufot Family Cycle” using the character of “Abasiama” in the previous entry, "SOJOURNERS" and establishing her as the “Ufot matriarch” whom Udofia describes as a “dynamic and forward-thinking woman from whom an entire Nigerian lineage in America will emerge.” 

After two years of planning and leadership from the Huntington Theatre Company, all nine of the “Ufot Family Cycle” plays are being produced in Greater Boston by over 30 partners over two seasons. 

(Photo: Abigail C. Onwunali as “Adiaha” sits with Patrice Johnson Chevannes as her mother “Abasiama” in a scene from "THE GROVE" by Mfoniso Udofia, presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood/Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 9, 2025. Photo Credit: Marc J. Franklin)

The remaining entries of the “Ufot Family Cycle” plays over the next two years include:

• Part 3: “runboyrun” - Produced as an audio play adaptation by: Next Chapter Podcasts in partnership with GBH. With readings held at Boston Public Library – Central Library & Roxbury Branches. February/March 2025. 
• Part 4: “HER PORTMANTEAU” - Produced by Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective. Directed by Tasia A. Jones Central Square Theater March 27,2025 through April 20, 2025.
• Part 5: “KUFRE N’ QUAY” - Produced by Boston Arts Academy with advisory support from The Huntington and in collaboration with Wheelock Family Theatre. Boston Arts Academy Main Stage in the Fenway. July, 2025.
• Part 6: “THE CEREMONY” - Produced with support from Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and Boston University College of Fine Arts. Fall, 2025. 
• Part 7: “LIFTED” - Produced by Wellesley Repertory Theatre. Directed by Tamilla Woodard. Winter, 2026.
• Part 8: “IN OLD AGE” - Produced by ArtsEmerson and Front Porch Arts Collective. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Spring, 2026.
• Part 9: “ADIAHA AND CLORA SNATCH JOY (A FOLK OPERA)” - Produced by Boston Lyric Opera and The Huntington Theatre. A folk opera featuring songs created with Nehemiah Luckett. Part of Embrace Boston’s Everyone 250 Festival. June/July, 2026.

(Photo: The CAST of "THE GROVE" by Mfoniso Udofia, presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood/Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 9, 2025. Photo Credit: Marc J. Franklin)

"SOJOURNERS" began in Houston, Texas in 1978 where we first were introduced to Nigerian student Abasiama Ekpeyong. 

"THE GROVE" takes place 31 years later and a little more close to home (well, my home, anyway), in Worcester, Massachuetts in 2009 where we meet new characters with a connection to the now-married Abasiama.

Adiaha Ufot (Abigail C. Onwunali) is the eldest daughter of Abasiama (Patrice Johnson Chevannes) and Disciple (Joshua Olumide) Ufot. 

The show begins with preparations being made in the Ufot home for a graduation celebration for Adiaha, a writer.

While the celebration ensues, Adiaha feels so far removed from her loving family because she harbors the fact she has been in a long standing lesbian relationship with artist Kimberly (Valyn Lyric Turner), one which she feels her family cannot understand given their deep religious convictions.

Adiaha has also kept this secret from her brother, Ekong (Amani Kojo) and sister, Toyoima (Aisha Wura Akorede) but soon everyone must come to terms with the truth....including Adiaha. 

The truth Adiaha herself must face is her own self-denial of her cultural heritage as it exists in tandem with her sexuality and overall identity - and it is here that we are treated to a simply sensatonal multi-layered performance by Onwunali.

(Photo: Abigail C. Onwunali as “Adiaha” in an emotional moment from "THE GROVE" by Mfoniso Udofia, presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood/Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 9, 2025. Photo Credit: Marc J. Franklin)

The set design utilized to represent both the Ufot home and apartment for Adiaha and Kim is mind-boggling as it also represents the Ufot ancestors who simultaneously exist on stage as "Shadows" during the story, communicating only in Ibibio language. 

Much like its predecessor, "THE GROVE" is a wonderful way to continue this 9-play cycle journey - and yet, again, much of the subject matter seems familiar. 

In books, plays or on film, we have seen Adiaha's story told many times and in many different ways in American culture.

However, even though the characters we encounter and their respective situations are instantly recognizable, we may not have seen many of the intersecting plots told from a Nigerian cultural perspective. 

Other noteworthy performances include the entire Ufot family which finds them all at an unexpected crossroads coinciding with Adiaha's "graduation": 

Patrice Johnson Chevannes as the emotionally conflicted Ufot matriarch Abasiama, Joshua Olumide as obtuse religious patriarch Disciple, Amani Kojo as Disciple's teenage son Ekong and Aisha Wura Akorede as defiant teen daughter Toyoima. 

(Photo: Abigail C. Onwunali as “Adiaha” with Valyn Lyric Turner as “Kimberly” in a scene from "THE GROVE" by Mfoniso Udofia, presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood/Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 9, 2025. Photo Credit: Marc J. Franklin)

In addition the above mentioned performances, two family "uncles" (played by Paul Robert Pryce as Udosen and Maduka Steady as Godwin) provide some nicely structured dialogue with contrasting perspectives on the Nigerian patriarchal views discussed throughout the two-act story. 

Once more allowing for the superb writing in Mfoniso Udofia’s text propelled by the brilliant staging by director Awoye Timpo, there are “loose threads” dangling from "THE GROVE" which hopefully will be pulled into some of the Ufot Family Cycle's remaining seven chapters. 

Perhaps we shall see more as the epic Ufot Family Cycle saga continues with the third entry in the series, “runboyrun.” 

(Photo: Janelle Grace and Ekemini Ekpo in a scene from "THE GROVE" by Mfoniso Udofia, presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood/Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 9, 2025. Photo Credit: Marc J. Franklin)

“THE GROVE” continues at the Calderwood Pavilion/Wimberly Theatre in Boston through March 9th, 2025.

Up next at Huntington Theatre Company will be "TRIUMPH OF LOVE" by Pierre Carlet de Marivaux beginning March 7, 2025 presented at the 264 Huntington Avenue location in Boston.  

For tickets and more information, contact Huntington Theatre Company online at huntingtontheatre.org, by phone at # 617-266-0800 or in person at THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston. 

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Approximately two hours with one intermission.

Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)

@MetrmagReviews

@Theatre_Critics

ABOUT THE SHOW

Playwright Mfoniso Udofia stages a family homecoming, asking what it means to draw on the wisdom and beauty of our ancestors when the bonds of family are stretched to the limit. 

Abasiama’s eldest daughter Adiaha wants to become a writer to make her family proud, but at her graduation party, she has to choose: fulfill her parents’ desires to settle with a traditional Nigerian man, or stay true to her own romantic match. 

Director Awoye Timpo ("THE BLUEST EYE" at THE HUNTINGTON) reunites with longtime collaborator Udofia for a play with the rich heart of a family drama against the thrilling theatrical backdrop of a Greek chorus of ancestors.   

ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY

THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY is Boston’s leading professional theatre and one of the region’s premier cultural assets since its founding in 1982. Recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, THE HUNTINGTON brings together superb local and national talent and produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current to create award-winning productions. THE HUNTINGTON runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. THE HUNTINGTON has long been an anchor cultural institution of Huntington Avenue, the Avenue of the Arts, and will remain so on a permanent basis with plans to convert the Huntington Avenue Theatre into a first-rate, modern venue with expanded services to audiences, artists, and the community. THE HUNTINGTON cultivates, celebrates, and champions theatre as an art form.  

huntingtontheatre.org