{"id":276714,"date":"2025-11-11T17:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/276714\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T17:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:02:09","slug":"the-monsters-at-trt-a-compelling-story-set-against-mma-competition-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/276714\/","title":{"rendered":"THE MONSTERS at TRT-A Compelling Story Set Against MMA Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen people tell you stories about yourself, you believe them.\u201d\u00a0 by BIG in The Monsters: A Sibling Love Story<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an outstanding production on the Two River Theater (TRT) stage!\u00a0 The Monsters-A Sibling Love Story is a dynamic two-hander that features exceptional writing and direction by Ngozi Anyanwu<\/a> and the brilliant acting\u00a0of Aigner Mizzelle<\/a> and Okieriete Onaodowan<\/a>. It is being performed in the TRT\u2019s intimate Marion Huber Theater through November 23, presented in association with the Manhattan Theatre Club. This play is both entertaining and thought provoking. \u00a0Make your plans to see it.<\/p>\n

\"Review:<\/p>\n

In The Monsters, LIL plans to meet her older stepbrother BIG after not seeing him for 16 years, and their reunion has unexpected consequences. Despite the siblings\u2019 10-year age gap, they share an obvious kinship and memories of a troubled past. BIG is a champion in the local Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) circuit, and LIL aspires to participate in the sport. When he offers to train her, the brother and sister continue to bond but soon embark on very different personal and professional trajectories. Ngozi <\/a>Anyanwu<\/a>\u2019s incisive writing transports audiences to the heart of the story. While it tells of LIL and BIG\u2019s struggles with their own demons, the emotions of the siblings are finely developed and very relatable. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Review:<\/p>\n

Aigner Mizzelle<\/a> shines in the role as LIL and Okieriete Onaodowan<\/a> masters the part of BIG. The two highly accomplished performers will keep you captivated from the first moment of the play to the final scene. Mizzelle portrays LIL as an adult and transitions seamlessly to the character of LIL\u2019s younger self. \u00a0Onaodowan\u2019s plays his pensive, determined persona perfectly. Both actors are remarkable athletes as they demonstrate the demanding physicality of MMA.<\/p>\n

\"Review:<\/p>\n

Moments in this powerful story are riveting such as BIG\u2019s local MMA championship fight;\u00a0 LIL’s first meeting with BIG after their long estrangement; BIG coming to Applebee\u2019s where LIL works; LIL\u2019s first training session with BIG; the flashback with LIL as a child as BIG sketches her;\u00a0 the hospital scene when the siblings\u2019 alcoholic father passes away; LIL and BIG talking about their respective mothers; LIL\u2019s first professional fight; LIL and BIG wrestling; and\u00a0LIL and BIG discussing the monsters they have confronted in their lives and in themselves.<\/p>\n

\"Review:<\/p>\n

The Creative Team has done a remarkable job of creating the atmosphere for The Monsters.\u00a0 The Team includes Choreographer Rickey Tripp<\/a>; Scenic Designer Andrew Boyce<\/a>; Costume Designer<\/a> Mika Eubanks<\/a>; Lighting Designer Cha See; Sound Designer\/Composer Mikaal Sulaiman<\/a>; MMA Consultant Sijara \u201cSarj\u201d Eubanks; and Fight Director Gerardo “Gerry” Rodriguez; The casting is by The Telsey Office<\/a> with additional casting by Caparelliotis Casting<\/a> & Kelly Gillespie<\/a>. The Production Stage Manager is AK Howard and Assistant Stage Manager is Alexus Jade Coney.<\/p>\n

We applaud TRT\u2019s Artistic Director, Justin Waldman<\/a> and Managing Director, Nora DeVeau-Rosen for their leadership and for bringing top shows to the Red Bank Stage. We look forward to the season ahead.<\/p>\n

Two River Theater is located at 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, NJ\u00a0 07701.\u00a0 For Tickets to The Monsters: A Sibling Love Story and upcoming shows, please visit Two River Theater<\/a> and call 732.345.1400.\u00a0 Be sure to keep up with all the special events that are available at the Theater.<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson<\/a> <\/p>\n

Reader Reviews<\/p>\n

To post a comment, you must register<\/a> and login<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhen people tell you stories about yourself, you believe them.\u201d\u00a0 by BIG in The Monsters: A Sibling Love…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-276714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}