Temple Theaters to Present IF PRETTY HURTS UGLY MUST BE A MUHFUCKA
Directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson, it runs Oct. 18-20 at Randall Theater.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Sep. 25, 2024
In the village of Affreakah-Amirrorkah, no one questions that Akim is the one true, perfect beauty - not even her jealous classmates. A decidedly contemporary riff on a West African fable, Tori Sampson's explosive epic is brimming with live music and dance, as frenemies jockey for their rank in a culture built on ideals forever out of reach. Ayanna Prescot wrote for Exeunt NYC: "No one truly wins in the land Affreakah-Amirrorikah, except the audience."
If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be A Muhfucka, directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson, will make its Temple debut at the Randall Theater (2020 N 13th st, Philadelphia PA). The show will run on Friday, Oct. 18th and Saturday, Oct. 19th at 7:30pm, and Saturday, Oct. 19th and Sunday, Oct. 20th at 2:00pm. Tickets can be purchased through the ticketing link provided below:
Written by Tori Sampson, If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka debuted at the Playwrights Horizons in February of 2019, where it became a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist. It was part of the 2017 Kilroy's List and won the Kennedy Center's Paula Vogel playwright prize. Tori Sampson's Broadway hit has only been around for the past few years, but it's surely making its mark on modern theater. Helen Shaw wrote for Time Out: "Sampson's script plays like it's sledding on a steep hill: You can feel the speed, the writer's whizzing wit, the swift adjustments in tone and direction; If Pretty Hurts is both exciting and crushing; it contains a sense of danger." Adapting a West African folklore with a contemporary American lens to examine the exhausting beauty standards Black women are subjected to makes If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be A Muhfucka stand out amongst the crowd.
Director Ontaria Kim Wilson said of the piece, "If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be A Muhfucka is an offering. It feeds the audience a slice of life into the African and African American communities in respect to how a person achieves and maintains beauty; and at what cost. It also mirrors the pressures that society puts on young girls in their formative years along with the social, psychological, and emotional impact of those pressures."
Temple Theaters is proud to present the first of its kind production, with the cast in crew hard at work making If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be A Muhfucka a production to remember.
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