Tag Archives: Marc J Franklin

May 16

Always and Forever, Each Moment with You: “Oedipus El Rey”

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L to R: Victor Almanzar, Javier David, Juan Arturo,Gabe Martínez in Oedipus El Rey; directed by Loretta Greco; photo by Marc J. Franklin

Presented by The Huntington
By Luis Alfaro
Directed by Loretta Greco
Dramaturgy by Sonia Fernandez and Ynika Yuagg
Fight direction and intimacy coaching by Jesse Hinson 
Voice and dialect coaching by Adi Cabral

May 7 – Sunday, June 14, 2026
The Roberts Studio
Calderwood Pavilion 
Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA, 02116

Online Playbill

The show contains full but brief nudity. Do with that information what you will. Check out the warnings HERE. 

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Audience members were activated on Wednesday night’s performance of Oedipus El Rey (now extended through June 14!) in the Calderwood Pavilion. The room buzzed with the conversation of friends greeting friends, ushers finding seats, Latin music played; it was the general hubbub of pre-performance excitement. No matter what happened on the stage, the atmosphere welcomed a good time for most of us.

I say most, because The Huntington’s Oedipus El Rey was written with the LA Chicano community in mind. Alfaro’s play borrows heavily from Chicano stereotypes, such as illiterate criminals and hypersexualized women. Alfaro’s work then grants personhood to some of them.  Continue reading →

Feb 25

You Are Simply Made Perfect: “The Grove”

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The cast of The Huntington’s production of Mfoniso Udofia’s The Grove, directed by Awoye Timpo; photo by Marc J. Franklin.

Play two of the Ufot Family Cycle
Presented by The Huntington
Written By Mfoniso Udofia
Directed by Awoye Timpo

February 7 – March 9, 2025
The Huntington Calderwood
527 Tremont St. 
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — The Grove is a play about being female, queer, and Black in a world that derides persons who persist in those identities. It follows Adiaha Ufot (Abigail C Onwunali returning in a tour de force performance) as she bargains with herself, her Ancestors, and her family to justify her existence. This is the triumphant second play in the Ufot Family Cycle by Mfoniso Udofia which runs at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston through March 9. 

If you didn’t see Sojourners, the first play in the Ufot Family Cycle, here is a recap video graciously provided by The Huntington.

Attendees won’t need to have seen Sojourners to enjoy The Grove as The Grove stands on its own dramatic, design, and direction excellence, but knowing about Sojourners will help patrons understand the trajectories of the recurring Nigerian-American characters Abasiama (Patrice Johnson Chevannes who leads with quiet bravery) and Disciple’s (Joshua Olumide as the terrifyingly unhinged patriarch). Both have changed since we last met them: Abasiama has found success in STEM after earning her college degree and born three more children. Disciple is an adjunct professor who now displays obsessive narcissistic personality traits: sleep deprivation, financial abuse, gaslighting. Their home is a veritable warzone for their children Adiaha, Toyoima (Aisha Wura Akorede) and Ekong (Amani Kojo). Continue reading →