The Fourth Walsh

Remy Bumppo presents MUD ROW.

Four women want a better life. Elsie dreams of marrying up. Frances fights for civil rights. Toshi yearns to return home. Regine wishes for her husband’s optimism. Two sets of sisters separated by decades are bound together as family. The past and present collide as the women grapple with poverty, trauma, despair and hope. Their generational saga unites and divides.     

Playwright Dominique Morisseau tells the stories of sisters. Morisseau creates distinct and determined characters with very different ambitions. She then forces them to figure out how to live under one roof together. In the present day, the contemporary sisters and their partners reveal snippets of their personal struggles. Morisseau’s spirited showdowns are over broken trust. The bitter reckonings are pointedly brutal. The individuals are flawed… admittedly so. And their vulnerabilities compel us to care about what will happen next.

The original sisters are harder to understand. Morisseau uses monologues to build backstories of the past. A sister talks to her reflection or reads a letter. It falls flat… especially in contrast to the heated exchanges of the contemporary sisters. The connection isn’t as compelling between the original sisters or for the audience. The stakes rise and the storytelling sharpens in the second act as the contemporary sisters face off.

Under the direction of Malkia Stampley, the tensions are high between Tiffany Renee Johnson (Toshi) and Ayanna Bria Bakari (Regine). Their encounters are a fierce tug-of-war. A resigned Johnson pleads for redemption. A guarded Bakari won’t allow herself to believe. Their failed attempts at reconciliation are heart-wrenching, while their partners offer steadfast support and welcome flashes of unexpected humor. The positive Davin (played by Jamaque Thomas) and mischievous Tyriek (played by Jabari Khaliq) console the ladies and lighten the mood with their antics.    

MUD ROW is the story of a family struggling to overcome systemic racism and economic hardship over the decades. The inheritance of the women becomes more than a locket, a letter, or a house. They share a past riddled in trauma. Is their future stuck in the muck?

Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes includes an intermission

At Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont

Written by Dominique Morisseau

Directed by Malkia Stampley

At 7:30pm on October 22, 23, 24, 30 and November 1, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14

At 2:30pm on October 22, 25, 31 and November 1, 7, 8, 14, 15

November 15

For more information or tickets

Production photos by Michael Brosilow

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