Photo Coverage: Meet the Cast of MCC's NOLLYWOOD DREAMS

MCC Theater will soon present the World Premiere of Nollywood Dreams by Jocelyn Bioh (MCC Theater's Burnt Umber Playwright-In-Residence) with direction by Saheem Ali. The cast will feature Charlie Hudson, III (A Raisin in the Sun), Outer Critics Circle and Lortel Award nominee Nana Mensah (Man From Nebraska), Sandra Okuboyejo (Hamilton, Chicago), Ade Otukoya ("Shades of Blue"), Emana Rachelle ("Insecure"), and Abena Mensah-Bonsu (School Girls, Drama Desk Award).

Nollywood Dreams begins performances on Thursday, March 19th, 2020, in the Newman Mills Theater at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space (511 West 52nd Street), with official opening night set for Monday, April 13th.

Nollywood Dreams marks Bioh's return to MCC Theater, and debut at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, after the 2017 premiere and 2018 remount of her critically acclaimed play, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play. Bioh's School Girls... has gone on to dozens of productions across the country and was aired on PBS's "Theater Close-Up" this past summer.

It's the 1990s and in Lagos, Nigeria, the Nollywood film industry is exploding and taking the world by storm. Ayamma (Sandra Okuboyejo) dreams of stardom while working at her parents' travel agency alongside her lovable and celebrity-obsessed sister Dede (Nana Mensah). When Ayamma lands an audition for a new film by Gbenga Ezie (Charlie Hudson, III), Nigeria's hottest director, she comes head-to-head with Gbenga's former leading lady, Fayola (Emana Rachelle). Tensions flare just as sparks start flying between Ayamma, the aspiring ingénue, and Wale (Ade Otukoya), Nollywood's biggest heartthrob, in this hilarious new play about dreaming big.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski