Familiar

Familiar is playing at the Playwrights Horizon located at 416 West 42nd Street. It runs two hours with one intermission. The play closes on March 26, 2016 with a possible extension.

Danai Gurira is the playwright. She is a playwright and actress. She is known for her role on The Walking Dead.

Tamara Tunie is known as medical examiner Melinda Turns on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2000-2007 and briefly in 2009 and 2010. She won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award in 2007 for Spring Awakenings.

It premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2015.

The play takes place in the house of Marvelous and Donald in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, late 2011.

Donald (Harold Surratt) is watching a football game. Marvelous (Tamara Tunie) is fusing over food on the dining room table.

Nyasha (Ito Aghayere) is home for her sisters Tendi (Rosalyn Ruff) wedding. She has just come back from a visit to Africa. Her family is from Africa. She and her sister are first generation Americans.

Nyasha Aunt Margaret (Melanie Nicholls) in the house drinking wine.

Tendi finance Chris (Joby Earle) has just arrived, he is white.

To Marvelous surprise, Tendi has invited her Aunt Anne (Myra Lucretia Taylor) from Africa to attend her wedding. She is to perform an African ritual which gives the bride away. Marvelous is not happy to see her.

Anne tells the groom he needs someone from his family to be there to speak on his behalf. He call his brother Brad (Joe Tippit), who agrees to come.

This is a well written play of a family whose members are not truthful to each other. When the family secrets come out, feelings are deeply hurt.

Tamara Tunie, Ito Aghayre and Roslyn Ruff were amazing. They touched at my heart strings.

I’m not telling you what happened I don’t want to spoil anything.

This is a must see play.

Review by Rozanna Radakovch .

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for recent photos. Click on recent photos for this and other shows.