Ayanna Bria Bakari and Tiffany Renee Johnson
Remy Bumppo Presents MUD ROW Review - Two Pairs of Sisters, One Home
TLDR: Flashing back and forth between the 1960s and modern day, Mud Row shows us two pairs of sisters within the Jeter family. Two are close and living through a time of societal change, while the other two are estranged and have different feelings about the house they grew up in. The show takes us on their journeys and we see how generational trauma shows up in every generation and how it impacts each of them.
Ayanna Bria Bakari and Jamaque Thomas
There’s History in the Bones of This House
A cutaway of a house takes up the entirety of the stage at Theater Wit. The outside is a dull shade of brown with faded blue trim, but it is statuesque and looming as it's pointed widow’s watch on the roof nearly touches the ceiling. Inside is decorated like, well, your grandma's house - a large area rug, tube TV, and floral couch complete with plastic covering.
Two pairs of sisters, generations apart, both lay claim to the house left to them by the generations before them. Two are in the past living at the turn of the decade. The elder is holding on to the way things were in the past. Find a husband, be a dutiful wife, and you'll always be cared for. The other is on the frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement, from picket lines to non-violent protests. With a flash of light, the two appear in the house at different moments.
Then we flash forward to the present, sisters in the twenty-first century that are estranged. One a college graduate, married, what you might consider successful. The other in and out of shelters, stints selling drugs, but is trying to become a better person. They find themselves meeting again in the house they grew up in, this large house belonging to their grandmother, and are at odds about what they should do with it.
Throughout Mud Row, we move back and forth between the past and present as we see how the sisters’ relationships change, wondering if they're growing closer together or further apart.
Alexis Janae and Toccara Castleman
We Recognize Their Internal Conflicts
Regine played by Ayanna Bria Bakari is the product of being the first born and held to high expectations before she’s even born. She’s the hope of the family to break the cycle. But we all know that’s too much pressure to put on just one person. Toshi played by Tiffany Renee Johnson is the second born and has gone through life feeling like no one ever expected her to achieve great things or be the “savior” of the family. We hear snippets from their childhood, living with their grandma and then their mother, and see how they came to be where they are.
Then there’s also the complementary characters around them. Their grandmother and great aunt, the original Jeter sisters, Elsie and Francis are played by Alexis Janae and Toccara Castleman. We see how different they are from each other, mirroring what we see in Regine and Toshi. But we see the care and closeness they try to maintain for themselves because they’re all each other has in this world.
Regine and Toshi seem to have also broken the cycle by partnering with men who see them for who they are and who probably also had their own inner demons and cycles to overcome. Jamaque Thomas as Davin seems to have rubbed some of his optimism and finding the good in people off on Regine. And Tyriek (played by Solomon Langley for the performance we saw) knows Toshi can do anything she puts her mind to and believes in her.
All of the characters work together to mirror each other in some ways, but as we move towards the ending we also see how people grow and evolve to break the patterns that have followed them their whole lives.
Ayanna Bria Bakari, Jamaque Thomas, Jabari Khaliq and Tiffany Renee Johnson
The After Party Thoughts
Mud Row does an excellent job of presenting so much without pandering to its audience. It’s about family. It’s about forgiveness. It’s about not giving more than you can, but meeting people where they are. It's about the challenges, stigmas, and disadvantages that people within the Black community have had to reckon with, sometimes by themselves, their whole lives.
Mud Row looks at these two pairs of women and how they’re all a product of their foremothers before them, but how they're able to understand themselves and become the version of themselves they want to be. The only thing I wish this play had to cement the breaking of the trauma cycle is taking the damn plastic off the couch! That would be a true sign they’ve released some of that trauma.
If plays about family history and relationships don’t speak to you, then this may not be the show for you. However, if you're looking for a show that shows generational trauma without the tragedy and provides a hopeful outlook of the future, Mud Row would be a great fit for you!
RECOMMENDED
Jabari Khaliq and Tiffany Renee Johnson
When
Now through November 15, 2026
Where
Theater Wit
1229 W Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
Runtime: 2hrs 10min, including intermission
Tickets
$34+
Tickets can be purchased through the Rempy Bumppo or Theater Wit website
Photos
Michael Brosilow
Find Allie and The After Party featured on Theatre in Chicago
CAST
Alexis Janae (Elsie)
Toccara Castleman (Frances)
Ayanna Bria Bakari (Regine)
Jamaque Thomas (Davin)
Tiffany Renee Johnson (Toshi)
Jabari Khaliq (Tyriek)
Emefa Dzodzomenyo (U/S Elsie)
Aundria TraNay (U/S Frances)
Quenna Barrett (U/S Regine)
Brandon Sapp (U/S Davin)
Maureen Azzun (U/S Toshi)
Solomon Langley (U/S Tyriek)
CREATIVE
Malkia Stampley (Director)
Lo Williams (Associate Director)
Jean E. Compton (Stage Manager)
Mateo Gutierrez (Assistant Stage Manager)
Sydney Lynne (Scenic Designer)
Amanda Herrmann (Properties Designer)
Levi Wilkins (Lighting Designer)
Destiny Garner (Assistant Lighting Designer)
Christopher Kriz (Composer & Sound Designer)
Evelyn Danner (Costume Designer)
Rueben Echols (Associate Costume Designer)
Matthew Chase (Production Manager)
Aubrey Pierce (Scenic Supervisor)
Nicholas Chamernik (Lighting Supervisor)
Gabriela Carrillo (Wardrobe Supervisor)
Jyreika Guest (Violence and Intimacy Designer)
Abhi Shrestha (Dramaturg)
Shadana Patterson (Voice/Text Coach)