Sunny Came Home by Nigerian playwright, Mutiyat Ade-Salu and directed by Morayo Orija
Fehinty African Ensemble Theater at Prop Theater, Chicago, IL, USA
by Maja Rios
Fehinty African Theatre Ensemble
Fehinty African Theatre Ensemble presents African stories ranging from classical to contemporary works and spanning from homelands to Diasporas. We unite artists in Chicago who are inspired by African expressions of the universal human condition and its illumination through performance. Our goals are to facilitate the creative development of African dramatic works and artists that will enrich and connect culturally diverse audiences in Chicago
The play, Sunny Came Home by Nigerian playwright, Mutiyat Ade-Salu and directed by Morayo Orija, was the first play I’ve seen in Chicago by an African playwright and a Mostly African ensemble. All actors were Nigerian-Americans except the character of “Sunny” who is African –American and played by African American actor, Skye Ellis. The play was in English. However that is where “English” American culture ended and a trip to Nigeria began. Culture, food, music, clothing expressions, were woven into a humorous and insightful script.
The play centers around the female character of “Sunny”, who is a child of Nigerian born parents, who has grown up in the U.S.A. with American values. She is a liberated college grad in search of her own identity job, and apartment, separate from that of her parents and Nigerian culture. She is trying to get a job, apartment and choose who she dates. Her parents have other ideas1 They try to fix her up with a Nigerian man they have chosen for her but she’s not having it.
She eventually lands a job in a Nigerian bank and makes a first trip to Lagos, Nigeria where she is in for a culture-shock as she is now the “foreigner” in Nigeria .She also contends with her cousin who expects a cut from her salary for finding her the job. She eventually returns to America and has a renewed interest in her parents’ choice of a beau for her, as she finds that he is a kind and honest person, trusting and loving and really cares for her as a person.
Wonderful acting by entire cast, great script, make for a good time in this approx. two-hour play. Staging is up close, personal and intimate in small Prop Theater, except for scenes of Sunny in her bedroom with her computer, which was staged on a high backdrop and a little hard to see even from second row. Most of the play however takes place on front part of stage and is easy to see and hear.
Play had short run and I caught it on the last performance but please stay tuned for more plays by African playwrights and actors from Fehinty Theater in Chicago, they are wonderful and need more recognition in the Chicago scene!
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