Abuelita

Written by Nathan Yungerberg - Director TBA - World Premiere 

PRIME Productions is proud to present the world premiere of Abuelita, a heartfelt and magical new play by Playwrights’ Center Core Member Nathan Yungerberg.

July 10, 1993, is day three of a ten-day heatwave in New York City. With temperatures reaching one hundred and two degrees, it is really FUCKING hot! Three Nuyorican women are melting on their stoop in Spanish Harlem when Davia Johnson, a wilted white sixty-five-year-old grandmother, shows up with a jumbo-sized suitcase and her thirteen-year-old mixed race grandson, Jesús in tow. Arriving from their farm in Iowa after the tragic death of her daughter, she has come to NYC so that her grandson can experience the culture of his unknown Nuyorican father. But New York City is “hotter'n a blister bug in a pepper patch”, and Davia's world spontaneously combusts clearing space for a whole new world to emerge, a world filled with parties, dancing and sexual awakening.

“Abuelita is deeply personal for Nathan,” says PRIME co-founder Shelli Place. “It reflects his own experiences with family, identity, and rediscovery.” Originally presented in an online reading during the pandemic and developed through a workshop at the Playwrights’ Center, this production is the result of years of artistic commitment and support, including funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

This premiere marks a major milestone for PRIME—technically, emotionally, and artistically. As co-founder Alison Edwards puts it, “We’re a small theater with big ideas, and this season, we’re acting on them. Abuelita is exactly the kind of bold, heartfelt story we were founded to tell.” Join Us.

Nathan Yungerberg is a Brooklyn-based Afro-surrealist storyteller and single father of two, whose work spans theater, television, and audio drama. When we first connected with Nathan, we were immediately captivated by his lyrical voice and bold imagination and to discover that he was a Playwright’s Center Fellow was serendipitous! His play Abuelita moved us deeply, and we feel incredibly fortunate that he’s entrusted PRIME with its world premiere.

Nathan is the head writer for the Webby-nominated podcast Live from Mount Olympus, co-directed by Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin and Zhailon Levingston. His television and audio credits include freelance writing for Sesame Street and script editing for the podcast Cultureverse, narrated by Yara Shahidi and Kelly Marie Tran.

His plays have been developed or presented by an impressive list of institutions, including New York Theatre Workshop, Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Apollo Theater, Alliance Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, The Playwrights’ Center, and many others. His acclaimed play Esai’s Table was featured in Cherry Lane Theatre’s Mentor Project under the guidance of Stephen Adly Guirgis.

Nathan is a recipient of numerous honors, including a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, a Core Writer Residency at the Playwrights’ Center, the National Black Theatre I AM SOUL Playwright Residency, and a residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program.

With Abuelita, Nathan brings his signature mix of poetry, memory, and magic to the stage—and we can’t wait to share it with you. Learn more here.

The Capri Theater 2027 W Broadway Minneapolis, MN 55411