It’s winter in Minnesota, and a Zimbabwean family is preparing for the wedding of their eldest daughter, a first-generation American. But when the bride insists on observing a traditional African custom, it opens a deep rift in the household. Rowdy and affectionate, Familiar pitches tradition against assimilation, drawing a loving portrait of a family: the customs they keep, and the secrets they bury.
Scenic Design: Clint Ramos Costume Design: Susan Hilferty Lighting Design: Tyler Micoleau Sound Design: Darron L West Production Stage Manager: Cole P. Bonenberger
Reviews
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“An engrossing, fiercely funny comedy-drama that probes with subtlety and smarts.”
—Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
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Danai Gurira is a playwright to honor and cherish.
Danai Gurira (author of Eclipsed on Broadway, Michonne on "The Walking Dead") and director Rebecca Taichman tell us about #FamiliarPH, the story of a Zimbabwean-American family in Minnesota.
Danai Gurira is everywhere! Here she was on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," where he was in awe of Danai and her domination with Familiar here Off Broadway and Eclipsed on Broadway.
I imagine myself a kind of cultural schizophrenic — caught between two cultures that could not be more disparate and yet feeling they combine to define who I am.
Danai Gurira first burst upon the scene in 2006 as co-creator and performer (with Nikkole Salter) of In the Continuum, a timely, intimate, and powerful AIDS play about two women on two continents, linked through illness, that went on to productions throughout the country and the world.
Danai Gurira has described herself as a “Zimerican.” Among the first wave of emigrants were her parents, academics who emigrated from Rhodesia to the United States in the 1960s to work at Grinnell College in Iowa; her father was a chemistry professor, and her mother a librarian.
The concept of “bride price” or “bridewealth” refers to money, property, or other forms of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the parents of the woman he is to wed. The practice has roots in many ancient cultures, and continues to play a significant role in marriage rituals and customs throughout the world today.
