Prior Presents

Aimee Nezhukumatathil is a New York Times-bestselling essayist and poet. Her environmentally attuned work explores how we live in a world she finds rich with wonder.

A young Nigerian couple arrives in Houston looking to earn their degrees and bring insights back to their home country. But Abasiama is soon forced to choose between the Nigerian Dream and her obligations as a matriarch. A pop-up production brought to The Prior by the Huntington Theatre as part of Boston’s nine-part celebration of playwright Mfoniso Udofia, originally from Central Massachusetts.

Led by celebrated vocalist Julia Keefe (Nez Perce), The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band is an ensemble of Native and Indigenous jazz musicians from across Indian Country. Opening act by Mali Obomsawin (Odanak First Nation), an award-winning bassist, songwriter, and composer whose debut album “Sweet Tooth” has received international acclaim.

As their neighborhood changes in unpredictable ways, a beloved Pittsburgh diner owner and his customers seek work, love, and justice in this heartfelt and hilarious play. Two Trains Running is the 1960s chapter of acclaimed playwright August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, a decade-by-decade saga of African American life in the 20th century.

Jha D Amazi leads the Public Memory and Memorial Lab at the pathbreaking MASS Design Group. The lab’s projects honor the experiences and cultures of communities historically underrepresented in our memorial landscape, with works including The Embrace in Boston and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

A journey through classically-framed infusions of soul, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and rag from the dynamic and inspiring chamber orchestra Sphinx Virtuosi, American Form/s is a co-production with Music Worcester.

MacArthur Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, essayist, and music and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His newest release, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House, 2024), was a New York Times Bestseller and longlisted for the National Book Award in nonfiction. His 2021 book, A Little Devil In America: Notes on Black Performance, placed as a finalist for the National Book Award.

How do we experience loss? How can we hold and appreciate what has been left to us? A new program from the Papermoon Puppet Theatre Company of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Puno, Sewing Memories tells the story of Tala, a young girl coping with her father’s passing, through a poignant performance with astonishing modernist puppets.