Sojourners
77

Sojourners NYC Reviews and Tickets

77%
(91 Ratings)
Positive
84%
Mixed
16%
Negative
0%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Ambitious, Intelligent, Slow

About the Show

'Sojourners' and 'Her Portmanteau' comprise a two-part theatrical event running in rep at New York Theatre Workshop. They're part of 'The Ufot Cycle,' a nine-play saga chronicling the matriarch of a Nigerian family.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (91)

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47 Reviews | 10 Followers
70
Absorbing, Great acting, Epic, Slow, Intense

See it if Theatre that is well acted, absorbing and important.

Don't see it if If you want a big comedy or musical.

13 Reviews | 10 Followers
98
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Refreshing, Enchanting

See it if you want to see a unique story of immigration, marriage, motherhood, friendship, and personal growth. Beautifully staged and acted.

Don't see it if you are Trumpian in your views of immigrants and women. Read more

11 Reviews | 1 Follower
80
Thought-provoking, Great staging, Absorbing, Ambitious

See it if You are interested in a complex account - neither pitying or uplifting - of assimilation in the US.

Don't see it if You want something simple.

14 Reviews | 7 Followers
80
Resonant, Unique, Thought-provoking

See it if you want to gain new cultural perspectives. This story of Nigerian immigration to the US in the 70s is fresh, the performers are vibrant.

Don't see it if you are looking for a quick-moving entertainment. The audience sits with the characters through growing pains, and requires some patience.

14 Reviews | 12 Followers
74
Resonant, Banal, Great acting, Intelligent, Thought-provoking

See it if You're interested in experiences of immigrant women and you want to see them deeply and subtly rendered.

Don't see it if Uneven writing bothers you. One-dimensional zany characters bother you. A bit of sag in the middle bothers you.

13 Reviews | 6 Followers
70
Disappointing, Relevant, Slow

See it if ... you are interested in the topic and can tolerate some cartoonization of the characters.

Don't see it if ...you like a faster-paced play. The writing was kind of flat and the staging-- that revolving stage-- wasn't effective. Repetitive.

60 Reviews | 7 Followers
During previews
96
Absorbing, Resonant

See it if This is an absorbing, original play, part of a 9-play Ufot cycle.

Don't see it if I don't know why you wouldn't see it.

112 Reviews | 21 Followers
During previews
95
Absorbing, Great acting, Great staging, Great writing, Thought-provoking

See it if you'd enjoy an intimate story with strong character development. I felt attached to the characters and knew them quite well.

Don't see it if you mind missing some dialogue because it's not in English. You aren't interested in family dynamics or the immigrant experience. Read more

Critic Reviews (33)

Talkin' Broadway
January 28th, 2016
For a previous production

"If 'Sojourners' has a significant problem, it's that Udofia is less adept at crafting action and events that match the beauty of her words. Very little, in fact, happens during the play, and the few things that do occur are not enough to completely support a two-hour-and-15-minute running time; the dialogue is good enough to prevent the show from dragging, but it has few other tangible sources of motion...The cast, however, is unfailingly wonderful."
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TheaterScene.net
February 3rd, 2016
For a previous production

"Though jagged in structure, 'Sojourners' is a quite moving romantic drama due to its wonderful performances and fine writing...The plotting is weakened by repetitive scenes that drag...Despite these flaws, the play by its conclusion is a compelling experience...Director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar realizes the author’s worthy but rambling vision."
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Theatre is Easy
February 1st, 2016
For a previous production

"Could not have asked for a better world premiere production of her exploration of immigration, assimilation, and cultural identity...From the moment the lights come up, 'Sojourners' is a transporting experience...I would put this ensemble up against any in New York— you won’t find a quartet of performers more perfectly suited to their roles."
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Theater Pizzazz
January 29th, 2016
For a previous production

"Director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar seems hamstrung by the drama’s largely realistic demands; his actors chew the scenery with such unrelenting passion you imagine the backstage area to be stocked with throat lozenges and honeyed lemon tea. A simpler staging might have made the performance less ponderous, but ‘Sojourners’ itself is too dependent on internal monologues that tell instead of show, and artificially colorful characters to make a two and a half-hour sojourn with it especially inviting."
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Stage Buddy
January 29th, 2016
For a previous production

"Udofia’s play cleverly touches on the variations of the American dream for everyone who feels like an outcast...If at times the play allows the characters to be slightly caricaturesque, the journey it takes us on is absolutely necessary."
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New York Theater
January 29th, 2016
For a previous production

"This production would have been more effective with a clearer and more streamlined unfolding of the essential story, particularly its intriguing climax...Ed Sylvanus Iskandar has assembled a four-member cast that does justice to the material...There is a rotating set in 'Sojourners'...Like the play itself, it has something of an unwieldy construction, at times annoying, but it drives home the feel of a world in which everything is both dislocating and connected."
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W
January 29th, 2016
For a previous production

"Director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar has staged this deeply beautiful, complex new play with both compassion and humor...'Sojourners' is the first in a proposed nine-work play cycle. By itself, it's a rich piece, looking at how America changes the people who come here, for better and for worse."
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American Theater Web
January 29th, 2016
For a previous production

"Unfortunately, much of Udofia's detail-rich script plays as if it were a series of overlapping monologues, many of which repeat the same information. Further undermining the potential of the play is Ed Sylvanus Iskandar's direction which requires the performers to generally look toward the audience as they speak...It's a pity because the tales that Udofia's sharing are pungent, and Iskandar has a superlative four person ensemble at his disposal."
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