SOJOURNERS and HER PORTMANTEAU Extend in Rep at NYTW

New York Theatre Workshop announced today a one week extension for NYTW Usual Suspect Mfoniso Udofia's Sojourners and HER PORTMANTEAU, presented in repertory and directed by NYTW Usual Suspect and former NYTW 2050 Fellow Ed Sylvanus Iskandar.

SOJOURNERS and HER PORTMANTEAU began performances on Saturday, April 22, 2017 and opened on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at New York Theatre Workshop (79 E. 4th Street New York, NY 10003) for a limited run now through Sunday, June 11, 2017.

In a two-part theatrical event, NYTW Usual Suspect Ed Sylvanus Iskandar brings to life the singularly poetic world of playwright and NYTW Usual Suspect Mfoniso Udofia's Sojourners and HER PORTMANTEAU. Performed in repertory, these two chapters of Udofia's sweeping, nine-part saga, The Ufot Cycle, chronicle the triumphs and losses of the tenacious matriarch of a Nigerian family.

The cast for Sojourners features Lakisha Michelle May (Everybody) as Moxie Wilis, Chinasa Ogbuagu (The Qualms) as Abasiama Ekpeyoung, Hubert Point-Du Jour (Every Angel is Brutal) as Ukpong Ekpeyoung, and Chinaza Uche (Dolphins and Sharks) as Disciple Ufot.

The cast for HER PORTMANTEAU features Jenny Jules (The Crucible) as Abasiama Ufot, Adepero Oduye (The Trip to Bountiful) as Iniabasi Ekpeyoung, and Chinasa Ogbuagu as Adiagha Ufot.

SOJOURNERS and HER PORTMANTEAU feature scenic design by Jason Sherwood, costume design by Loren Shaw, lighting and video design by Jiyoun Chang, and sound design by Jeremy S. Bloom. Dawn-Elin Fraser (Nat Turner in Jerusalem) serves as the dialect coach and Janice Paran (Anna in the Tropics) serves as the dramaturg.

In Sojourners, a young, pregnant Abasiama struggles with the responsibilities of her arranged marriage as her husband becomes seduced by 1970s American culture. Intent on finishing her university studies so that she can return to Nigeria, Abasiama weighs her dreams and obligations as she attempts to move forward. Decades later, the full impact of her decision erupts when Abasiama's family is reunited in HER PORTMANTEAU. As Nigerian traditions clash with the realities of American life, Abasiama and her daughters must confront complex familial legacies that span time, geography, language and culture. Presented in two parts, this heartrending pairing probes into the ties that bind mothers and daughters and how we define home.

SOJOURNERS and HER PORTMANTEAU are produced in association with The Playwrights Realm (Katherine Kovner, Artistic Director Roberta Pereira, Producing Director) who premiered Sojourners last winter in a limited engagement world premiere production.

Tickets for Sojourners and HER PORTMANTEAU are $65 and are on sale now at NYTW.org and by phone at 212-460-5475. Standard ticketing fees apply to all orders.

A $25 day-of ticket rush is available for young people, seniors, artists and Lower East Side residents. Rush tickets are subject to availability and are sold cash-only, limit two per person. Proper identification is required for all rush tickets. Youth (ages 25 and under) and seniors (ages 65+) may present an ID indicating date-of-birth; Artists may present an ID and a program or union card; Lower East Side residents may present an ID that includes your address.

The performance schedule is structured to allow audience members to see each play on separate days, or to see both in succession on either Saturday or Sunday with a meal break. The performances schedule for Sojourners is as follows: Tuesday at 7pm, Thursday at 8pm, Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 1pm. The performance schedule for HER PORTMANTEAU is as follows: Wednesday at 7pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 4pm, and Sunday at 7pm.

For Sojourners and HER PORTMANTEAU, New York Theatre Workshop is proud to partner with Eat Offbeat, a company that delivers authentic, off-the-beaten path cuisines made by refugees resettled in New York City. Audiences attending a two-show marathon experience of Sojourners and HER PORTMANTEAU on Saturdays and Sundays have the option to purchase a hot meal delivered right to the theatre to enjoy following the afternoon show. Meals are only available on Saturdays and Sundays during the run of Sojourners and HER PORTMANTEAU and must be pre-ordered online at NYTW.org. More information about Eat Offbeat is available at eatoffbeat.com.

Season memberships for the 2017/18 season are now on sale at NYTW.org and include the New York premiere of Mary Jane by NYTW Usual Suspect and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Amy Herzog (4000 Miles, Belleville) and directed by NYTW Usual Suspect and two-time Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman (Sundown, Yellow Moon; A Life); HUNDRED DAYS, with a book by The Bengsons (Iphigenia in Aulis) and Sarah Gancher (The Place We Built), music and lyrics by The Bengsons, direction by Anne Kauffman, and movement direction by Sonya Tayeh (you'll still call me by name); the World Premiere of AN ORDINARY MUSLIM, by NYTW Usual Suspect Hammaad Chaudry (Salaam, Mr. Bush), directed by NYTW Usual Suspect and Obie Award winner Jo Bonney (The Body of An American) in 2018; a new production directed by NYTW Usual Suspect & three-time Obie Award winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown; Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) of LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, by NYTW Usual Suspect and five-time Obie Award winner Caryl Churchill (Love and Information; A Number); and the New York Premiere of THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND by Marcus Gardley (X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation), directed by NYTW Usual Suspect and former 2050 Fellow Lileana Blain-Cruz (Red Speedo; The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World).

New York Theatre Workshop, now in its fourth decade of incubating important new works of theatre, continues to honor its mission to explore perspectives on our collective history and respond to the events and institutions that shape all our lives. Each season, from its home in New York's East Village, NYTW presents four new productions, over 80 readings and numerous workshop productions for over 45,000 audience members. NYTW supports artists in all stages of their careers by maintaining a series of workshop programs, including work-in-progress readings, summer residencies and artist fellowships. Since its founding, NYTW has produced over 100 new, fully staged works, including Jonathan Larson's Rent; Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul; Doug Wright's Quills; Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde; Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla; Martha Clarke's Vienna: Lusthaus; Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, A Number and Love and Information; Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath; Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová and Enda Walsh's Once; Rick Elice's Peter and the Starcatcher; David Bowie and Enda Walsh's Lazarus; Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown; and eight acclaimed productions directed by Ivo Van Hove. NYTW's productions have received a Pulitzer Prize, seventeen Tony Awards and assorted Obie, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards.