Set in the Imo State of present day Nigeria, Ngozi Anyanwu’s play The Homecoming Queen has been given its world premiere in the smaller, more intimate Stage 2 space of the Atlantic Theater Company. The result is equally a feeling of community and of eavesdropping on one house whose daughter, the bestselling author Kelechi, has returned home from New York after fifteen years away. Her father is still alive, proud but obviously much older. There is a lot to talk about and also not talk about, as in many families. Kelechi’s anxieties are front and center; she’s taking pills to help herself cope.
The play itself is excellent with a structure that goes back and forth in time as the story unfolds. We see these characters peel back their histories. The best friend from childhood. The new house girl. The “chorus” represented by four women who are the townsfolk, neighbors, gossips, historians and singers, namely, the community. Directed by Awoye Timpo (Associate Director of last year’s great Broadway revival of Jitney), the effect of surrounding the audience with these ladies ingeniously centers the listener to a place. You never completely lose sight of them which nicely conveys the density of this area’s population (thanks, Google).
No plot spoilers here. Kelechi, our Homecoming Queen is played by Mfoniso Udofia, a playwright (last season’s Sojourners and Her Portmanteau) who confidently returns to acting in this emotionally fulfilling role. Excellent work throughout this cast, notably by Segun Akande as Obina, the childhood friend who has found success in his homeland. In a week where the President of the United States was quoted as having referred to African nations as “shitholes,” the need for theater to continue to shine spotlights on all peoples and their stories remains vitally important. A beautifully realized piece, The Homecoming Queen is most welcome in my worldview.
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