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Boston Globe
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Huntington's ‘Mangos' explores a family's dark secrets
That doesn't make the revelation any less horrifying, of course. But it does raise the question: Is what leads up to and follows that revelation compelling enough and distinctive enough to make 'Mangos' hang together as an organic whole? The answer is: Not quite. For the most part, 'Mangos' registers as two different plays, jammed together. But González demonstrates an understanding of family dynamics: the ways in which the past is never really past when it comes to the people close to you; it's always poking its nose into the present. Advertisement The playwright also knows what kind of ingredients can create an explosive or chilling scene, and 'Mangos' unleashes a couple of doozies. The play carries echoes of Set in 2019 in a community near San Juan, 'Mangos' focuses on three sisters: 46-year-old Ismelda (Jessica Pimentel); 44-year-old Yinoelle (Yesenia Iglesias), and 39-year-old Wicha (Evelyn Howe). Their mother (Susanna Guzman) has cancer, but has lately been skipping her treatments. Their father (Jose Ramon Rosario) has suffered a stroke that left him bedridden. When he needs assistance, Papi peremptorily summons family members by ringing a bell. In another power move, he often insists that family members scratch his nose. Advertisement 'Don't Eat the Mangos' premiered in 2020 at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, when it was led by The Huntington cast delivers strong performances all around, especially considering that they have to juggle the play's contrasting elements as it moves from comedy to horror and back to comedy and then… A hurricane is heading their way, but one is starting to build in their house, at first with familiar pressure points. Ismelda has been shouldering the bulk of the caregiving duties and is starting to resent it. In a conversation with Yinoelle, Wicha caustically notes that Ismelda got pregnant three times in her teens. There's more to that story than she knows. One of the things the sisters argue about is whether to sell their house. A momentous decision under any circumstances; infinitely more so in this case. 'We have to think about our future,' says Yinoelle. 'This place. … It's not our future.' DON'T EAT THE MANGOS Play by Ricardo Pérez González. Directed by David Mendizábal. Presented by The Huntington. At the Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. Through April 27. Tickets are $29-$150. At 617-266-0800 and Don Aucoin can be reached at
Boston Globe
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘The Grove' expands the Ufot Family Cycle with a story both humane and moving
Advertisement Whether their role is large or small, the 13-member cast is aces, across the board. Aided by her design team, Timpo constructs an atmosphere that amounts to a kind of visual poetry, lending the play the quality of myth. (Timpo also helmed The Huntington's entrancing 2022 production of Set in 2009, 'The Grove' is focused on Adiaha, an ambitious young writer played by Abigail C. Onwunali, who nearly sets the Wimberly Theatre stage on fire with her impassioned performance. The play alternates between Adiaha's parents' home in Worcester, Mass., and the apartment in the Inwood section of New York City that she shares with her girlfriend, Kimberly Gaines (Valyn Lyric Turner), an artist. (Udofia, who grew up in Southbridge, Mass. about 25 miles from Worcester and attended Wellesley College, has dedicated her play to 'the young woman I once was.') Adiaha is trying to summon the courage to talk with her deeply traditional parents, Abasiama (Patrice Johnson Chevannes) and Disciple (Joshua Olumide) about the fact that she is gay. It's clear that that would be an explosive conversation. Of course, group portraits of a family coming apart at the seams are a staple of the theater: the Lomans, the Tyrones, the Youngers, the Wingfields – hell, all the way back to the House of Atreus. What matters is whether the playwright can deliver vividly individualized portraits within that larger picture. Advertisement Udofia can, and does. Though father Disciple is a volatile, dogmatic, and narrowly religious guy who seldom communicates at a volume lower than a shout, 'The Grove' is not built around the tired binary of lovable victim and hissable villain. That path would be too easy and simplistic for a playwright of Udofia's skill. Abigail C. Onwunali and Patrice Johnson Chevannes in "The Grove." Marc J. Franklin Adiaha has profound respect for her Nigerian heritage, which adds tension to the question of whether she will be forced to choose between living with authenticity or maintaining the loving bond she has with her parents. From start to lump-in-the-throat finish, Onwunali makes us feel the weight of that choice. (Last November, when Dawn M. Simmons directed In a captivating touch that underscores the family's connection to its history, five 'Shadows' (Ekemini Ekpo, Janelle Grace, Patrice Jean-Baptiste, Chibuba Bloom Osuala, and Dayenne Walters) dressed in traditional garb and representing the family's ancestors, circle the action of 'The Grove,'' speaking and singing in Ibibio, the language spoken by the Ibibio people of Nigeria. As Udosen, described by the playwright as Adiaha's 'fun uncle,' Paul-Robert Pryce is a font of ebullience and charisma in every scene he's in — very entertaining to watch. The play loses some steam in the scenes where Adiaha and Kim thrash out the issues in their relationship. 'The Grove' would benefit from some judicious trims there. But the bickering between the two young women can also be seen as part of Udofia's dramatic rigor and intellectual honesty. What Adiaha wants is to live a true life, which means an imperfect life. Advertisement 'Sojourners' was on The response from the audience in the Wimberly Theatre Wednesday night was among the most fervent I've ever seen. Yes, the crowd doubtless included plenty of family and friends of the cast and the creative team, given that it was the show's official opening night. But the burst of joy as they leaped to their feet at the end of the performance seemed utterly spontaneous. In any case, it was, without question, utterly warranted. THE GROVE Play by Mfoniso Udofia. Directed by Awoye Timpo. Presented by The Huntington at Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. Through March 9. Tickets start at $29. 617-266-0800, Don Aucoin can be reached at
