Martyna Majok’s Darja Struggles to Survive in New Jersey

by Emily S. Mendel

Thank you, Oakland Theater Project, for producing “Ironbound,” a taut, tense, yet tender and loving exploration of a Polish immigrant’s struggles to find a decent and secure life for herself in industrial New Jersey.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok knows the background of “Ironbound” personally, and it shows in the honesty and poignancy she creates in the main character, the conflicted and downtrodden Darja. Majok’s mother is also from Poland, and like Darja, worked as a factory worker and house cleaner.

The play’s action takes place at a lonely, litter-laden bus stop beneath a freeway in the Ironbound section of Newark. That bus stop serves as both a haven and a crossroads for Darja. In each scene, Darja makes life-changing decisions. And although the drama begins in 2014, it spans more than 20 years overall, going back and forth in time, as we learn about Darja’s tough and troubled existence.

Actor Lisa Ramirez is extraordinary as Darja. She is on stage throughout the one-act, 90-minute production, and powerfully captures the vagaries of Darja’s life, her lovers, her longing for her absent drug-addicted son, and the wrong and bad choices she makes, all softened by bits of humor. Ramirez performs this role using a slight Polish accent, adding another layer of realism to the part.

When arriving in the U.S, Darja and her first husband, Maks (outstanding Adam KuveNiemann) work in a factory in Newark. But Maks longs to move to Chicago to play the Blues. Despite being pregnant, Darja won’t move to Chicago with him. Although she cannot articulate her reasons, she is already exhausted by life in Newark and likely does not expect more from Chicago. We never meet the son she was then carrying—the one soul she grows to love fully and fearlessly.

One cold, lonely night, Darja runs back to the bus stop after she has been beaten by her abusive second husband (who doesn’t appear onstage). There, she meets a compassionate, generous, and lonely high schooler, Vic (vibrant performance by Kevin Rebultan). But Darja finds it difficult to accept his kindheartedness. Based on her challenging life experiences, she thinks of relationships simply as transactions. When husband Maks says that money isn’t everything, that “what’s most important in this life is this thing you have what no one can take from you,” she replies, “I can’t think what’s something can’t someone take.

Years later, inarticulate, postal worker Tommy (excellent Daniel Duque-Estrada), Darja’s current roommate and lover, is having an affair with the rich woman for whom Darja is housecleaning. Darja’s mercurial bursts of anger might be interpreted as jealousy or love. However, her feelings may more likely stem from her need for Tommy to continue paying half the rent. Darja cannot afford the luxury of love.

Skilled, nuanced director Emilie Whelan also directed last year’s Oakland Theater Project’s excellent production of Martyna Majok’s 2018 Pulitzer Prize–winning “Cost of Living,” in which actor Danny Duque-Estrada also performed. Both display Majok’s extraordinary and perceptive talent in capturing people who are vulnerable and struggling to make it in America.

I highly recommend “Ironbound.” With first-class acting and writing, it is the relevant and emotional embodiment of the immigrant experience, which bears more understanding these days.

Oakland Theater Project is a small warehouse theater that produces outstanding and important theater. Sadly, it just had its $55,000 in National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities grants abruptly withdrawn. I know that anything you can do to help will be greatly appreciated.

“Ironbound” by Martyna Majok, directed by Emilie Whelan, set designed by Sam Fehr, costumes by Bethany Deal, lighting by Ashley Munday, sound by Ray Archie, at Oakland Theater Project, Oakland. Info: oaklandtheaterproject.org – to May 25, 2025.

Cast: Lisa Ramirez, Daniel Duque-Estrada, Adam KuveNiemann, and Kevin Rebultan.

Banner photo: Daniel Duque-Estrada and Lisa Ramirez. Photos: Ben Krantz Studio