Familiar
The new Danai Gurira play, Familiar , is a bit, well, familiar, what with its exploration of family dynamics. That is also what makes it easy to relate to, and even a bit comforting. To be sure, the family in Familiar does not look like mine. The parents, Donald ( Harold Surratt ) and Marvelous ( Tamara Tunie ), emigrated from Zimbabwe, and made a life in Minnesota, where their children were born. (By contrast, my family is Caucasian, and we've been New York natives since my great-grandparents' generation.) Their younger daughter, Nyasha ( Ito Aghayere ), has just returned from a trip to "Zim," as the character call it. Her older sister, Tendi ( Roslyn Ruff ), is about to get married—to a white Christian, Chris ( Joby Earle ). The family, including Marvelous's sisters, Margaret ( Melanie Nicholls-King ) and Anne ( Myra Lucretia Taylor ), and Chris's brother, Brad ( Joe Tippett ), is gathered for the wedding. We all have families, both the one we're...