No stronger, more emotionally powerful play has been seen this season than The Monsters, presented by Two River Theater in association with the Manhattan Theatre Club. Subtitled “A Sibling Love Story”, The Monsters follows siblings Joseph, aka “Big”, and Josephine, aka “Little”, as they follow career paths in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
“Big” (Okieriete Onaodowan), when we meet him, holds a championship belt although he has never risen to the higher professional MMA levels. His fighting ability is strong, although the toll of MMA bouts is starting to tell — he is a little slower at blocking blows, and injuries are not as quickly recoverable. Into his life comes Jo (Aigner Mizzelle), his decade-younger half-sister (same father, different mothers). She is a spitfire, enamored of the violent glamour of MMA and fascinated by her big brother’s fame. Cocky, flashy, and sure of herself, Jo stands in stark contrast to “Big”, the stolid survivor. Initially, “Big” really doesn’t want or need Jo in his life, but — possibly since she reminds him of himself when he was a young amateur — grudgingly agrees to start training her.
The Monsters follows Jo’s career. In her first fight, she allows her emotions to take control, forgetting everything “Big” has been trying to teach her, relying on her speed and relentless attack style to win. After being taken down by her brother, Jo grudgingly agrees to resume training with him, taking his hard-learned advice and learning his style. But before long, other trainers come buzzing around Jo, until she splits from “Big”, accusing him of professional jealousy.
Ngozi Anyanwu, who is both playwright and director of The Monsters, not only gives us the blistering raw world of MMA and the hold it has on Jo and “Big” but also gives us flashbacks to their younger selves, dealing with an abusive father. “Big” speculates that they both have some of their father’s aggression inside them, something that “Big” calls “the monster”, that they both have to deal with. Director Anyanwu maintains the delicate balance between youth and experience, between using strategy versus using raw power, even between male and female perspectives, that make seeing this play such a visceral experience.
Expressing this delicate balance, actors Okieriete Onaodowan and Aigner Mizzelle give outstanding performances. Aside from their amazing physicality, they both give performances of emotional weight and power that are equally amazing. They are believable as brother and sister, with all the entanglements of a sibling relationship, the affection as well as the rivalry and disagreement, and the observations that hit a little too close to home because of knowing each other so well. The agility of the transitions between their younger and older selves is astonishing.
Choreographer Rickey Tripp stages solo fight scenes for both “Big” and Jo that are balletic in the physicality. You can almost see their unseen opponents landing blows, knocking them down and rolling them over. Fight director Gerry Rodriguez and Sijara Eubanks, the show’s MMA consultant, make all the fight sequences look strikingly real.
Scenic designer Andrew Boyce has staged the play in three-quarters-round style with a large octagonal space marked out on the floor. Inside that octagon, the floor is miked so that you hear and almost feel every body slam given and taken by the siblings. Credit for that and other sound effects goes to Mikaal Sulaiman.
The Monsters is a love story between siblings and across time. It is almost poetic in its beauty. It is gripping and at times brutal, but it is always beautiful. It will last in your mind long after it’s over. I cannot more strongly encourage you to see The Monsters before its limited engagement ends.
The Monsters is presented in the Marion Huber Theatre at Two River Theater in Red Bank through Nov. 23, 2025. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to tworivertheater.org. The Monsters will resume performances with the same cast at the New York City Center for a limited time starting January 23, 2026, presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club. To purchase tickets for Manhattan Theatre Club performances, go to manhattantheatreclub.com.
