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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Sojourners Also see Susan's reviews of Primary Trust, The Comedy of Errors and The Comeuppance
The story, set in 1978, follows a Nigerian couple, Ukpong (Opa Adeyemo) and Abasiama (Krishawn), who have relocated to Houston so Ukpong can attend college. Abasiama is pregnant and works at a gas station convenience store; theirs was an arranged marriage and, in this unfamiliar setting, she misses the close personal and family connections she left behind. Her husband, however, enjoys the freedom he has found in the U.S. and has no interest in returning home. Director Valerie Curtin-Newton follows these characters through their eventual interactions with Moxie (Renea S. Brown), a local woman with little education but big ambitions, and Disciple (Kambi Gathesha), another Nigerian and an academic who seems to spend most of his time in his unfurnished apartment with little to occupy him except his typewriter. Paige Hathaway's scenic design emphasizes the contrast between Ukpong and Abasiama's cluttered but homey apartment and Disciple's ascetic living space filled with crumpled-up pieces of paper. The intensity of Krishawn's portrayal comes from the fact that Abasiama is trying to keep up with her husband while realizing that he loves his new lifestyle more than he cares about her or, for that matter, his own future. It's obvious in the way he hides trash under furniture rather than throwing it away, his unexplained absences from the apartment, and the way he slacks off when he should be studying. The problem is that, even though the culture clash is genuine, it seldom comes to a boil in Udofia's telling. The lack of communication between Abasiama and Ukpong quickly becomes tiresome; the appearance of the forthright, funny Moxie (and the growing dynamic between the two women) livens things up, and it's obvious from Disciple's first scene that he is the man Abasiama needs. Sojourners runs through October 6, 2024, at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda MD. For tickets and information, please call 240-644-1100 or visit www.roundhousetheatre.org. By Mfoniso Udofia Ukpong: Opa Adeyemo |
