KUFRE N' QUAY Comes to Boston Arts Academy With Wheelock Family Theatre

The Boston Arts Academy and Wheelock Family Theatre will continue the sweeping nine-play Ufot Family Cycle with the world premiere of, Kufre n’ Quay, at the Boston Arts Academy this summer. The play is written by Emmy-nominated playwright Mfoniso Udofia and will be directed by BAA’s award-winning Nigerian filmmaker, actor, and playwright John Oluwole ADEkoje (Street Soldiers; Hype Man), who is also a faculty member at BAA. Kufre n’ Quay runs Thursday, July 10 – Saturday, July 26, 2025 at the Boston Arts Academy Main Stage Theatre (174 Ipswich St. Boston, MA 02215).

In her fifth installment of the Ufot Family Cycle, Kufre n’ Quay, playwright Mfoniso Udofia tells the coming of age story of a 12-year-old African boy who arrives in New York’s Little Senegal and joins a youth center. Set in Harlem in 2019, Kufre, son of Iniabiasi and grandson of Abasiama, forms a friendship with an African American girl. The play explores the ways in which we navigate the contrast between African and Black American culture. 

"Each play in the cycle has demanded a lot — heart, labor, and deep care,” says playwright Mfoniso Udofia. “But this one has me over the moon, precisely because of the youth involved. Their hearts, their presence, their power. This project is being produced by the Boston Arts Academy, and the ensemble is primarily made up of high school students hailing from the Greater Boston area — all Black and Brown youth, stepping into their first professional production. They are bold. Ready. Present. And deeply committed. I am floored by what they are building."

The Ufot Family Cycle is a festival marked by radical collaboration with an unprecedented scale and scope across Boston. After two years of planning and leadership from The Huntington, all nine of the Ufot Family Cycle plays by Mfoniso Udofia are being produced in their intended order in Greater Boston by 35+ partners over two seasons. The Boston Globe has lauded Udofia’s Cycle saying, “In terms of concept, scope, and execution, Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play cycle about three generations of a Nigerian American family has proven to be one of the most exciting things to happen in Boston theatre in a long time.”

As the producer of Kufre n’ Quay, Boston Arts Academy, with support from the Boston Arts Academy Foundation, is thrilled to welcome local actors to the BAA stage under the direction of BAA’s ADEkoje. Twelve BAA students are involved in the production, in addition to local and regional youth and adult actors. 

“We are honored to produce this poignant play, Kufre n’ Quay, with the Wheelock Family Theatre in collaboration with The Huntington, and the incredible Ms. Udofia. The project is an opportunity for our students to engage in high level art-making and explore work that is culturally relevant to their lives,” says  Maura Tighe, Boston Arts Academy Artistic Director.  “The experience is going to be phenomenal for our kids and our extended community.”

This production is particularly special in that it centers the youngest generation of the Ufot family. To date, Boston audiences have been introduced to Abasiama and her adult children; this is the first time her grandchildren (and child actors) will be involved in telling this multigenerational story. BAA students make up a majority of the cast and team, and three of the cast members are Huntington Education program alumni. Ngolela Kamanampata, playing “Quay,” is the 2025 August Wilson New Voices Competition Boston Champion; Jalyse Ware, playing Ms. Ey Yo Miss is a Huntington Education Department teaching artist; and Lala Cooks Beeks, understudy for Ms. Ey Yo Miss, was a student performer in The Huntington’s production of Nassim last season and is an alum of the Next Narrative and August Wilson competitions and the Huntington Summer Theatre Institute.

Kufre n’ Quay can be enjoyed as a stand-alone experience, or as a new thread in the rich tapestry that is the Ufot Family Cycle. To date, Boston audiences have enjoyed the first four installments of the Ufot Family Cycle: The Huntington’s Sojourners and world premiere of The Grove [Winner of the 2025 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script], the podcast of runboyrun (Boston Public Library, GBH, The Huntington, and Next Chapter Podcasts), and Her Portmanteau (Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective). 

“Wheelock Family Theatre is excited to partner on the Ufot Family Cycle! This historic initiative will provide audiences from Greater Boston and beyond with the opportunity to experience and celebrate the work of Mfoniso Udofia,” says Nick Vargas, Wheelock Family Theatre Executive Director.

The cast of Kufre n’ Quay includes: 

Levi Mngonezulu as Kufre Ekpeyong, the son of Iniabiasi and grandson of Abasiama. Mngonezulu is from Newton, MA; this is his first professional acting role. 

Ngolela Kamanampata as Laquasha “Quay” Price, a 13-year-old city girl. Credits include Origination Cultural Arts Center’s annual performances of Tartufa and Our Story. This past spring, she competed in the final season of the August Wilson New Voices Competition, earning the title of the 2025 Boston Regional Champion. 

Jackie Davis as Abasiama Ufot, the Ufot family matriarch and Kufre’s grandmother. Credits include directing and acting work at Trinity Repertory Theatre in Providence, RI where she is on staff as a teaching artist/master instructor, as well as numerous productions in many regional and national theatres. 

Ramona Lisa Alexander as Inibiasi Ekpeyong,  Kufre’s mom. Credits include current position as Associate Artistic Director at Portland Playhouse, Notes from the Field: Doing time in Education and Pipeline at Portland Playhouse, The Bluest Eye at The Huntington, and Black Superhero Magic Mama at Company One.

Jalyse Ware as Ms. Ey Yo Miss, Harlem Zone’s favorite staffer and theatre teacher. Credits include working with The Huntington as a teaching artist, as well as many credits in film and theatre in the New England area.

Boston Arts Academy Acting students round out the cast of ten young people: Ja’mon Johnson, Ayanna Joseph, Londyn Lacy, Jedrian Latimore, Shai-Anne Neufville, Ezra Schwartz-Barts, Selah Thande, and Zay Williams.

Understudies include: Lala Cooks Beeks and Janelle Grace.

The creative team of Kufre n’ Quay includes scenic design by Jenna McFarland Lord (In the Heights at Wheelock Family Theatre), lighting design by Karen Perlow (A Man of No Importance at SpeakEasy Stage), projections design by Justin Lahue (Pippin at Boston Arts Academy), sound design by Cliff Notez (Boston Magazine's 2019 Best of Boston “Musician of the Year), and costume design by Zoë Sundra (Don’t Eat the Mangos at The Huntington) .Choreography is being directed by Shaumba- Yandje Dibinga. 

This Cycle marks the first time all nine plays will be complete and performed in their intended order. In addition to producing the first three plays, The Huntington also serves as a motherboard of resources and connection to bolster the creative process and success of the remaining six productions that will be mounted through 2026 by and with arts organizations, universities, social organizations, non-profits, and a host of community activation partners. 

Each of the productions will be professionally filmed by partner Kligerman Productions to expand the reach of the Ufot Family Cycle and preserve it in perpetuity, allowing the Ufot Family Cycle to be taught in educational settings as part of the American theatrical canon. 

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, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. 

The Boston Arts Academy Foundation is proud to support the Ufot Family Cycle and this production of Kufre n’ Quay. The BAAF is an independent 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization that raises essential funds from private philanthropic sources to augment the Boston Arts Academy school budget. The Boston Arts Academy Foundation helps bridge the gap between the school’s allocation from the Boston Public Schools and the true cost of a high-quality education that is both art-intensive and college-preparatory. The BAAF Take a Seat campaign invites donors to play a starring role in the future of the school and the theatre by allowing families and patrons to inscribe their name - or the name of a loved one on a dedicated seat.