Siblings, Secrets, and Stepping Back Into the Ring at La Jolla Playhouse

Some of the most complicated relationships in our lives are the ones we were born into. The Monsters, a West Coast premiere coming to La Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Forum, goes straight to the heart of that – through the lens of two estranged siblings and the world of mixed martial arts.

A Reunion Nobody Was Ready For

Playwright Ngozi Anyanwu writes and stars in The Monsters alongside Sullivan Jones, known from HBO’s The Gilded Age. The story centers on LIL, who has spent years quietly tracking her brother BIG – an aging but respected figure in the local MMA circuit – from the sidelines. When she shows up on his doorstep unannounced, everything they’ve been avoiding comes rushing back.

Directed by Tamilla Woodard, with choreography by Adesola Osakalumi, the production brings real physical energy to the stage. Co-produced with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, it had a strong Bay Area run before heading south.

The Fight is Just Where it Starts

The MMA world gives The Monsters its structure and momentum, but the emotional core is something far more universal. The weight of family, the pull of memory, and the work it takes to build a life worth being proud of.

For anyone who grew up with siblings – or carries complicated feelings about the family they came from – this one is going to land.

Already Turning Heads

BroadwayWorld declared The Monsters “a winner in every sense,” and with a playwright who also stars in the show, the performances carry a rare kind of authenticity. Anyanwu wrote these characters, and it shows.