{"id":335199,"date":"2026-09-01T20:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T20:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/335199\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T20:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T20:14:08","slug":"blood-be-sweet-joins-new-york-theatre-workshop-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/335199\/","title":{"rendered":"Blood Be Sweet Joins New York Theatre Workshop Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop has added a final production to its\u00a0current season, Abigail C. Onwunali<\/a>‘s supernatural thriller\u00a0Blood Be Sweet. The production will begin April 21, 2027, with the limited run continuing through May 30. An opening night is to be announced. Awoye Timpo will direct.<\/p>\n

Inspired by ancient Nigerian folklore and set in an “otherworldly realm” (per press notes), the play centers on three spirits trying to protect a young girl, only for Death to arrive, and far too soon. The work has been in development in partnership with Jamila Ponton Bragg<\/a>, stage and screen star Cynthia Erivo<\/a>, and Emmy winner Lena Waithe<\/a>. Casting is to be announced.<\/p>\n

Onwunali, who has acted on Broadway in\u00a0Jaja\u2019s African Hair Braiding<\/a> and\u00a0Joe Turner’s Come and Gone<\/a>, will make her Off-Broadway playwriting debut with the production. Along with being a NYTW 2050 Artistic Fellow, Onwunali has been a La MaMa Playwriting Fellow, Page 73 Writer, New Harmony Project Fellow, and recipient of the Irons in the Fire Residency.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve been a fan of Abigail C. Onwunali for some time now as an actress,” shares Erivo in a statement.\u00a0“She possesses a gravitas that is afforded to very few people, and when I was gifted the chance to read her latest work, I was blown away.\u00a0Her voice is equal parts lyrical and muscular. Her storytelling honors Wole Soyinka<\/a>\u2019s legacy while embracing the 21st century. And she breathes life into the complexity, strength, and true vulnerability of us Nigerian women in ways I have rarely seen on any stage.”<\/p>\n

“NYTW has a long tradition of producing the Off-Broadway debuts of essential generative artists,\u201d adds NYTW Artistic Director Patricia McGregor. \u201cAbigail Onwunali joins that notable cohort with a modern take on epic Nigerian lore. Her voice bursts off the page with a vivid assuredness. Blood Be Sweet has a hunger in its belly. I can’t wait for audiences to experience the riveting and intimate tale, helmed by the great Awoye Timpo.”<\/p>\n

\u201cBlood Be Sweet is a play that explores the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters. It also forces us to grapple with our own demons and our own fears before they take over our lives,” says Waithe. “Abigail was in the very first season of the Hillman Grad mentorship lab and I\u2019ve been following her journey ever since. What a joy it is to come on board her play. This feels like a full circle moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The upcoming production will feature music by Michael R. Dudley, Jr., choreography by Adesola Osakalumi<\/a>, and dramaturgy by Arminda Thomas<\/a>. Further creative team members are to be announced.<\/p>\n

Tickets are currently available via NYTW subscriptions at NYTW.org<\/a>. A date for single ticket sales is to be announced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop has added a final production to its\u00a0current season, Abigail C. Onwunali‘s supernatural thriller\u00a0Blood…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10],"class_list":["post-335199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}