FULL REVIEW:

Two kinds of people inhabit this world of ours: those who believe in magic and those who don’t. Zaki, age 10, truly believes. The only child of Nigerian immigrants living in New Jersey, she inhabits a safe, comfortable world with strict yet loving parents. Between bouts of bouncing off the walls with energy, Zaki goes to her treasure box and practices magic, sure that she will soon, very soon, be able to create miracles. Her parents don’t believe, her friend Simon doesn’t believe, but she is unstoppable. The magic is in her heart, in her very being.

Her soul-mate arrives in the form of Gram, who comes from Nigeria to live with the family. Gram is a mighty force and fires up Zaki’s imagination with tribal tales and traditions. Masked African dancers appear, spirits really, living through the power of belief. They are forceful, dramatic, athletic, beautiful, frightening, and protective. The magic is happening. Until it stops.

Her childhood shattered by betrayal, Zaki changes. Ultimately sent away to school, she returns home 20 years later, burdened with resentment, guilt, and sorrow. Strong and successful on the outside, hurting on the inside, Zaki flexes her inner power against those she feels have wronged her. Only the revelation of family secrets and the release of heartfelt emotions can help her heal.

IYOM is a brilliant production. Well written, perfectly executed, this intense story reaches into the depths of both the brightest hope and the darkest despair. MONIQUE A. ROBINSON, JACQUELYN JOYCE REVERE, and LAURA E. JOHNSON are tremendously powerful as Zaki, her mother Ruth, and Gram. The delightful insights into African lore are woven through a script that has a perfect ratio of love, humor, and drama. The spectrum of emotions evoked through the words of playwright LOU-LOU IGBOKWE dazzles the senses and, ultimately, lifts the heart. IYOM is magic.