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To dream is universal. That’s the message of Nollywood Dreams at freeFall, playing through May 12 at the west St. Pete theater. When I saw the show’s description, I wondered if the creative team at freeFall chose the show because of underlying themes of globalism, race, or diversity.
Nope. This is a singularly charming, light and easy, delightful script, made all the more stupendous by an unparalleled cast. Throughout the 100-minute play Saturday night (no intermission), I couldn’t find a flaw; Nollywood Dreams at freeFall is another unparalleled show of excellence audiences have come to expect from this west-side theater.
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Joyce Bioh’s script — billed, not inaccurately, as a “laugh-out-loud romantic comedy” — invites the audience into a small Nigerian travel agency, run by two sisters. One — Ayamma Okafor, played superbly by Fahnlohnee Reeves (who was born in Liberia, which, while not a near neighbor, is also on the western coast of Africa)— has ambitions of breaking into Nollywood.
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Wait, What is Nollywood?
Nollywood, for the uninitiated (as I was, prior to seeing this show), is the term used for Nigerian cinema, and it’s not new. According to the Nashville Film Institute, it’s “one of Africa’s most lucrative film businesses.” The International Trade Administration reports that the Nigerian film industry is the second largest in the world, produces more than 2,500 films a year, and, in 2021, generated $2.3 million.
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Her Sight’s Set on Nollywood
Ayamma, supported by her sister, Dede (played by the equally effervescent Hillary Scales), gets an audition with Gbenga Ezie (Clinton C.H. Harris manages to pull off “sexy director” without signaling “creepy casting couch” vibes, which made for an unexpected, pleasurable nuance of character). Ezie’s delight at her performance displeases his girlfriend, also an actress: Fayola Ogunleye. Shelby Ronea remains eminently likable as the jealous — and perhaps a little bit scared of not being the star — Fayola. Rising Nigerian star Wale Owusu (Milton Lyles) and talk-show host Adenikeh (Andresia Moseley) round out the cast, and they, too, developed characters who were a pure joy to watch.
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Light and Airy
The show itself is light-hearted. Throw a small town, golden retriever, and cabin the woods on stage, and you’d have a Hallmark movie. There are a few nods to American ignorance about Nigeria. “Africa is a country to them,” Dede remarks after explaining to a caller that no, they didn’t offer tours of the Serengeti because the Serengeti wasn’t in Nigeria (it’s on the eastern side of the continent and farther south).
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Don’t go expecting grand themes about colonialism and race; this is a fun show, carefully directed by Erica Sutherlin. Eric Davis’ two-level set incorporates two video walls, a cathode ray tube monitor (yes, children, that’s what computers used to look like), and an old-school TV. It’s technological whiplash, and, like everything about this show, fun.
As my husband said as we left the theater, it was easy. And, with no disrespect to the storied August Wilson, perhaps shows such as these hold the key to nibbling away at the hatred and racism that’s ever-encroaching on our lives. Nollywood Dreams shows a different culture — one with whom, I would wager, most Tampa Bay theater patrons are unfamiliar. And, while the geography, culture, accents (English is the official language of Nigeria), and societies differ, Nollywood Dreams opens a short window of time where we can see are dreams are, indeed, universal.
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See Nollywood Dreams at freeFall
freeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Through May 12: Wed.-Sat., 7 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. No shows April 25 or May 3. freefalltheatre.com, 727-498-5205.
