On April 10, Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) premiered James Ijames’ new play “Wilderness Generation” at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. The play tells the story of the Maxim cousins as they reunite at their grandmother’s house to help prepare for her move to a retirement home. But, there’s a catch — Grandma Bobbie has gone to Cancún. Left alone in her house, the cousins reflect on their shared childhood. Naturally, both positive memories and unresolved tension resurface.
The set, designed by Associate Professor of Theater Matt Saunders, is a highlight of the production. The house, designed in striking detail and always perfectly lit, grounds the show in an intimately domestic space. From the family pictures on the wall to the assorted magnets on the fridge, the set is believably well lived-in. Though much in the cousins’ lives has changed as they’ve grown, the house serves as a powerful reminder of their past.
The first act unfolds with a palpable lightness. Cousins Ramona (Heather Alicia Simms), Smitty (Brenson Thomas), and Nicole (Jessica Johnson) slip into their old routines. Marked by laughter and gossip, their relationship feels both genuine and routine. They relive much of their childhood: calling dibs on bedrooms in Grandma’s house, excitedly planning a game of Marco Polo, opening a wine bottle, and sneaking a drink from the whiskey stash with the same mischievous energy of rebellious teenagers. Though, of course, they aren’t kids anymore. Now adults of varying ages, Ramona, Smitty, and Nicole each have unique ways of remembering their youth. Their age reflects the vibrancy of their childhood memories and the ways they have learned to deal with conflict.
The relational ease they share proves fleeting. A note from Grandma Bobbie, left on the fridge, announces the arrival of their cousin Micah (Lindsay Smiling), with whom the group, particularly Nicole, shares a fraught history. The arrival of Nicole’s SoundCloud-rapper boyfriend Donovan (Abdul Sesay) further complicates the dynamic, positioning Nicole between the family she’s inherited and the one she’s chosen.
The play ultimately asks what it means to be family and what we are willing to forgive and when. Those questions are the heart of “Wilderness Generation” and reflect James Ijames’ broader interest in the family drama as a form.
In an email correspondence with The Phoenix, Ijames expressed a clear pull towards the genre. “I love family dramas,” he wrote, “I’ve actually been rather sad that they aren’t as au courant … I also think we’re culturally in a moment where we are opening up what family means.”
Ijames draws on his own background, citing both his Black Southern upbringing and his family ties to Historically Black Colleges and Universities as key influences. “It’s a world I know so well, and I feel so comfortable in,” he shared. He describes his play as an exploration of legacies passed down through generations while situating his work in a broader theatrical tradition: “There is a long tradition of great American plays about families — I mean Miller, Williams, Wilson, Paula Vogel, and Sarah Ruhl write so beautifully and soulfully about family. I think every writer wants to see what their version of that might look like.” Perhaps, “Wilderness Generation” is part of his contribution to that lineage.
The PTC’s website mentions Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” and Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” as key influences. Of Hansberry’s masterpiece, Ijames said, “‘A Raisin in the Sun” is a perfect play. I’ve read it easily over a hundred times. Lorraine Hansberry has had an indelible impact on multiple generations of American writers, and I’m really happy to be in that number.” From Chekhov, he draws interest in emotional stillness. “He could let his characters just consider, mourn, wait, or just wanna go to Moscow and never get there. He was interested in how the smallness of life can be as powerful as the large events.” He pointed to a recurring fascination in his own writing: “I’ve inherited a curiosity about the balance between humor and pathos. Can a drama be funny? Can a comedy make you weep? I’m just curious and playful.”
In response to whether “Wilderness Generation” — his take on the classic familial play — felt particularly urgent in the current political moment, Ijames instead described the play as “perennial.” That perspective is reflected in his focus on cousins as central characters. “I’ve specifically chosen cousins because that family dynamic is somewhat novel when separated from the rest of the family. I thought it would have a lot of potential for story and character.”
To Ijames, the play’s emphasis on connection feels especially timely. “[Connection is] the antidote to what’s happening now,” he noted, before adding about the pandemic, “We were siloed for almost two years, and we behave as if we haven’t survived massive trauma. We have! It doesn’t mean we collapse, but I think it behooves us to remember what happened to all of us, and we must remember how to connect and build community.”
In terms of the legacy “Wilderness Generation” might leave behind, Ijames sees the work as still evolving. “[The play] will probably change over the next couple of productions. But I will say: seeing Miz Martha was truly a glimpse at the beginning of what I hope will be my legacy. I kept trying new things, I kept pushing what I thought a play could be and what an audience could experience. I’m a baby. I got so much more to do. I have faith I get to do some of it before I’m gone, gone.”
Though Ijames’s intentions for “Wilderness Generation” seem clear, the play’s execution does not always support them; though it raises compelling questions about connection and family, its resolution misses the mark. The play’s tonal shift away from carefree nostalgia to confrontation comes late in the show, with the main conflict being both introduced and solved within the second half of the second act. As a result, the stakes of the reunion feel compressed.
Nicole and Micah’s confrontation unfolds with the emotionality of the children they once were. While the choice feels successful at the start — capturing how our younger selves tend to reemerge around our families — it also simplifies the central tensions of the play. The characters in “Wilderness Generation” demand to be handled with nuance, and though the play gestures towards complexity, the final scene of the show fizzles out somewhat anticlimactically.
The rushed resolution dulls the impact of the production’s conflicts, leaving its questions more compelling than the answers it offers. What shines through are those early moments of familial comfort and ease before the play’s ambitions begin to outpace its execution.
“Wilderness Generation” is playing at the Philadelphia Theatre Company from April 10 to May 3, 2026.
Jessica Qin ’28 contributed reporting for this article.
