ARTSEMERSON PRESENTS IN OLD AGE
THE PENULTIMATE “UFOT FAMILY CYCLE” PRODUCTION
UNFOLDS A FUNNY, POIGNANT STORY ABOUT REFLECTION,
CONNECTION, AND RECLAIMING JOY IN ADVANCED YEARS.
Ebony Marshall-Oliver and Marvin Bell star in this two-character play.
BOSTON – May 18, 2026 – ArtsEmerson presents the Front Porch Arts Collective production of Mfoniso Udofia’s IN OLD AGE, the eighth of nine plays that comprise the playwright’s “Ufot Family Cycle.” The production runs June 13-28 at the Emerson Paramount Center and is directed by Dawn M. Simmons, who helmed the Ufot Cycle’s first show, Sojourners, at The Huntington in 2024.
Performances take place at the Paramoun Center’s Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre, 559 Washington St. in Boston’s Theater District. Show times are Wed./Thu. @ 7:30p, Fri. @ 8p, Sat. @ 2p and 8p, and Sun. @ 2p. Press review performances begin June 18.
In this two-hander, Ebony Marshall-Oliver (left) plays Abasiama Ufot, a Nigerian immigrant whose character has been at or near the center of most Ufot Cycle stories. Marvin Bell (right) plays Azell Abernathy, an older handyman and a character new to Cycle audiences.
Set in the Ufot family home in Worcester, Mass., the play finds Abasiama, now in her 80s, peacefully living alone and taking on home repair projects. Her daughter Toyoima hires carpenter Azell to help Abasiama build the home of her dreams. His arrival disrupts the hard-won peace she has carved out for herself. Over the course of seven days she discovers Azell’s presence is actually the test of a lifetime. What is Abasiama poised to learn? Can she break old patterns? Can she do it before time runs out? IN OLD AGE becomes a moving story about two people discovering companionship, dignity, and the courage to live fully.
The creative team for IN OLD AGE includes: Jeffrey Peterson, Scenic Design; Eduardo Ramirez, Lighting Design; Arshan Gailus, Sound Design; Chloe Moore, Costume Design; and Elektra Newman, Props Designer.
“What makes the Ufot Family so extraordinary is that it’s alive,” says Dawn M. Simmons. “Mfoniso has revised and deepened the work as it’s been presented in sequence, allowing audiences to watch these characters evolve in real time. This new production of IN OLD AGE is the most fully realized version of the play yet, shaped by those ongoing revisions – and the experience of producing the cycle here. We get the ending that Abasiama deserves…it’s a powerful and loving farewell to the matriarch who gathered a city.”
The Porch Producing Artistic Director Maurice Emmanuel Parent says this production continues the company’s work to uplift stories of Black culture. “I’m overjoyed about this first Porch project with ArtsEmerson, whose work I’ve admired for so long. We’ve felt honored to be part of this Ufot Cycle project. It’s daunting to be entrusted with the story of a character whom people have come to know and love, as she navigates the final chapter of her life. With Mfoniso’s beautiful, surprising script, and Dawn’s always-expert touch, we are in good hands.”
“The Ufot Family Cycle has become one of the most ambitious and meaningful cultural collaborations Boston has seen in recent years, and we are honored for ArtsEmerson to join that journey for the first time with IN OLD AGE,” says ArtsEmerson Interim Executive Director and Director of Artistic Programming Ronee Penoi. “Mfoniso Udofia’s writing invites audiences into an intimate and deeply human story about aging, companionship, and the courage it takes to remain open to joy and transformation. We are thrilled to present Front Porch Arts Collective’s production that takes us through this moving next chapter of the Cycle.”
TICKETS AND SCHEDULE
Tickets are $55 including fees, and on sale now at frontporcharts.org and artsemerson.org. Student and senior discounts are available. Performances take place at the Emerson Paramount Center Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre, 559 Washington St. in Boston’s Theater District. Show times are Wed./Thu. @ 7:30p, Fri. @ 8p, Sat. @ 2p and 8p, and Sun. @ 2p.
ABOUT THE UFOT FAMILY CYCLE
Massachusetts-raised playwright Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play cycle chronicles the lives of the Ufot family, descendants of matriarch Abasiama Ufot. Each play follows a different family member; together they trace one family’s story from 1978 to 2078. Catalyzed by The Huntington, Boston is the first city in the country to produce the entire Cycle in order over
the course of two years. The first seven plays were produced by The Huntington, Central Square Theatre, Front Porch Arts Collective, Boston Arts Academy, CHUANG Stage and Wellesley Repertory Theatre, in collaboration with more than 35 regional community and education partners. Boston’s Ufot Family Cycle is supported by The Huntington with funding from Amy and David Abrams, the Barr Foundation, the Boston Foundation, the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. For more information, bostontheatrescene.com/ufotboston.
ABOUT FRONT PORCH ARTS COLLECTIVE
Founded in 2016, Front Porch Arts Collective (“The Porch”) is Boston’s most prominent Black theater company, having staked a claim after a decade without such an organization in the city. The Porch is committed to rewriting the narratives of Boston, its racist past and its persistent reputation as an unwelcoming city. As the company’s namesake implies, The Porch conjures a communal spirit, serves communities of color, and produces art that’s inclusive of all communities, and welcoming to all audiences, to inspire a more tolerant and inclusive Boston.
No stranger to awards and boundary-pushing theater, the company and its co-producing partners SpeakEasy Stage and Central Square Theater are up for 12 2026 Elliot Norton Awards, including Best Play for its co-production of The Mountaintop and Outstanding Play, Small Theater for the collaboration with Company One Theater for The Meeting Tree. To date, The Porch, its co-productions, and its artists have garnered nearly 50 Norton Award nominations and 18 wins.
ABOUT ARTS EMERSON
ArtsEmerson is the professional presenting and producing organization at Emerson College, and its mission is to bring people together to experience powerful performances that delight, provoke, and inspire, celebrating both our differences and common humanity. Founded in 2010 by Robert J. Orchard — the year the U.S. Census confirmed there was no single cultural majority in Boston — ArtsEmerson is committed to building a cultural institution that reflects the diversity of our city. Our imaginative and globe-spanning live and virtual performances, films, and conversations invites each of us to be part of a Boston that is more creative, equitable, and connected. In 2025, under the leadership of President Jay Bernhardt, the college launched their strategic plan, Extraordinary Emerson 2030, which lays out a powerful vision for the future of Emerson. ArtsEmerson’s work is aligned with the mission and values of this plan, and our impact in Boston and across the globe brings that vision to life. ArtsEmerson is led by Interim Executive Director of the Office of the Arts & ArtsEmerson Director of Artistic Programming, Ronee Penoi. For more information ArtsEmerson.org.
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FOR MEDIA
● Playwright Mfoniso Udofia, Director Dawn M. Simmons, artists, and members of the Front Porch and ArtsEmerson teams are available to talk about IN OLD AGE.
● For interviews, photos, access to rehearsal, and for media/review tickets, reach John Michael Kennedy, jmk@jmkpr.com / 212-842-1752 or Jen Astin,
ja@jmkpr.com / 424-333-1718. For questions about ArtsEmerson, reach Darren DeLuca, darren@luca-pr.com
