EVREN ODCIKIN
The Great Privation
(How to flip ten cents into a dollar)
by Nia Akilah Robinson
Soho Rep, New York City (2025)
1832: a mother and daughter stand vigil behind the African Baptist Church in Philadelphia at the grave of a recently deceased loved one. Today, on the same grounds: another strangely familiar mother and daughter work as counselors at what is now a sleepaway camp. Timelines collide, horrors are buried and revealed, but love never lacks.
The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar) is a darkly comic play about our nation’s long practice of harming Black bodies in the name of scientific progress, our responsibility to time, and the role joy plays in living with a history we cannot change.
CRITIC'S PICK
"A defiant light radiates through this tale, and comedy shares space with disquietude."
—New York Times
"There is a lyricism to Robinson’s dialogue that belongs to both classical drama and to today’s urgent need for action, and director Evren Odcikin taps directly into each, delivering one of the year’s strongest stage showings."
—Theatrely
"Robinson’s play, expertly directed by Evren Odcikin, is powerful theater that not only tells a stirring story but also spotlights characters who are connected to the past."
—Hollywood Soapbox
"With Odcikin’s guidance and dressed by designer Kara Harmon in clothes that gradually merge the time periods, four excellent actors provide natural performances that anchor the mystical story within an easy semblance of reality."
—New York Stage Review
"Robinson stakes a claim as a major playwright to watch with her genre-bending drama, The Great Privation. There’s an admirable ambition here, and director Evren Odcikin manages the tricky transitions between scenes of objective reality and ones of otherworldly fantasy."
—Culture Sauce
"Alternately tender and hilarious… an outstanding off-Broadway debut for both the author and the director Evren Odcikin"
—New York Notebook
"Despite its potent subject matter, The Great Privation is extremely funny, complete with a rousing fourth-wall-breaking finale that will have you moving and grooving. But it won’t make you forget the hard-hitting story you just experienced."
—This Week in New York
Cast
Holiday, Miles G. Jackson, Crystal Lucas Perry, Clarissa Vickerie
Creative Team
Jackson Berkley (Props Supervisor), Maxwell Bowman (Video Designer & Programmer), Xavier Clark (Voice and Dialect Coach), Greg Corbino (Scenic Puppetry & Effects), Sofie Daley (Costume Apprentice), Jaz Hall (Assistant Director), Kara Harmon (Costume Designer), Daniela Hart (Assistant Sound Designer), Leonardo Medina Herrera (Assistant Scenic Designer), Ann C. James (Sensitivity Specialist), Cookie Jordan (Wig & Hair Designer), Marika Kent (Lighting Designer), Katya Khellbau (Associate Production Manager), Matt Lazarus (Assistant Lighting Designer), Sarah Matthews (Assistant Stage Manager), Tosin Olufolabi (Sound Designer), Parrish Production LLC (Production Manager), Yamilet "Yamie" Lopez Ramirez (Associate Wig & Hair Designer), Gabriela Rojo (Assistant Scenic Designer), Mariana Sanchez (Scenic Designer), Amy Sutton (Assistant Costume Designer), Lay Hoon Tan (Production Manager), tbd casting (Casting Director), Arminda Thomas (Dramaturg), Kirrin Tubo (Production Assistant), Mars Wolfe (Production Stage Manager)