dysfunction | The Sleepless Critic

REVIEW: Love and family drive a moving and powerful world premiere of ‘Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?)’ presented by Chuang Stage and Seoulful Productions

Posted on November 30, 2024 by The Sleepless Critic

Family can be complicated. Some ancestors have passed away and maybe you would give anything to speak to or enjoy a meal with them one more time. Others you endure and it can be so emotionally draining, it is a battle to stay connected.

Featuring a special opening act concert performance by Sarah Shin on Wednesday, November 27 prior to Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?), this particular evening presentation manages to explore both types of relationships.

Zoë Kim in Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

Written and performed affectively by Zoë Kim and perceptively directed by Chris Yejin, Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) , a world premiere production from Chuang Stage and Seoulful Productions, is a moving autobiographical recollection on love and family continuing live and in person at Boston Center for the Arts in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, November 30. This bilingual one woman performance is 75 minutes with no intermission. The paper program not only offers details on the show, but also features a wonderful and fitting cookbook section on Korean comfort food. Click here for more information and for tickets which are limited.

Candid and engaging, Did You Eat‘s featured a special opening act performance by Sarah Shin. With a peach electric guitar, she paid tribute to her late grandfather who led a big life with a big family. With yearning vocals, she longs for conversations with him about her craft knowing what she knows now. Though the song might have been explored an octave lower, it is a lovely and personal number that resonates with anyone who discovers they have common ground with those who have come before them.

With rich accompaniment by Alison Yueming Qu, Shin also performed a raw and humorous song about the aftermath of a breakup enhanced by Shin’s soaring and unique vocals.

Accented by ethereal and shrouded pastel colored drapes and a multicolored painted floor, Did You Eat evokes a guileless innocence and Aegyo in Szu-Feng Chen’s cheerful and lively set design and costuming featuring braids and sunflowers, a bloom which symbolizes resilience. Katie Kuan-Yu Chen’s lingering and at times dreamy sound design with Michi Zaya’s distinctive projections and Ari Kim’s dynamic lighting illustrates a wide range of emotions from hyper vigilance to love at first sight.

A mother (Umma) who was not ready to become a mother but wanted to please her family and a father (Appa) who wanted to please his family and prove his manhood by having a son. Diving into the dysfunction and expectations set by a Korean family, Did you Eat is a multifaceted journey performed and recounted by Korean-American Zoë Kim in a stirring one woman performance. Her use of the second person perspective is part of what makes Kim’s story engulfing for the audience as she navigates the struggle she endured growing up and the repercussions it had on her psyche and well being.

A winding journey that is at times funny, haunting, harrowing, relatable and always powerful, Kim transitions each feeling with skill, physical prowess, and a natural fluidity as each scene intensely alters in tone. An earnest piece steeped in emotion, the production is enhanced by Christopher Shin’s striking chorography that varies from subtle to sharp and abrupt movements to interpretive dance. Kim army crawls, slices the air, and slides across the floor and yet also emits joy through childlike movements and a beaming smile.

The term Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) is inherently a phrase used in love language and how actions speak louder than words and yet words are significant and binding. Kim also longs to please her family and within its raw honesty through resentment, isolation, shame, guilt and seemingly impossible circumstances, shares a beautiful life lesson about identity, trust, self love and what it takes to shine.

Written and performed affectively by Zoë Kim and perceptively directed by Chris Yejin, Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) , a world premiere production from Chuang Stage and Seoulful Productions, is a moving autobiographical recollection on love and family continuing live and in person at Boston Center for the Arts in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, November 30. This bilingual one woman performance is 75 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets which are limited.

REVIEW: PTP/NYC presents enthralling family mystery, ‘The House in Scarsdale’

Posted on October 17, 2020 by The Sleepless Critic

Dan has a complicated relationship with his estranged family.

Director Christian Parker of ‘The House in Scarsdale’ Photo courtesy of PTC/NYC

Directed by Christian Parker and written by playwright and actor Dan O’Brien, Dan embarks on more than just a spiritual journey in The House in Scarsdale: a memoir for the stage. The House in Scarsdale is the third play within Potomac Theatre Project(PTP/NYC’s) virtual series that has been running each weekend from September 24 through Sunday, October 18.

Dan O’Brien’s The House in Scarsdale streamed from Thursday, October 8 through Sunday, October 11 and Caryl Churchill’s Far Away continues through Sunday, October 18 on PTC/NYC’s YouTube channel. Viewings are free, but donations are welcome to support PTC/NYC with ten percent of the proceeds supporting The National Black Theatre. Click here for the complete list of productions in PTP/NYC’s virtual series.

Alex Draper as Skip and several other characters

In what can be described as a play within a prospective play, The House in Scarsdale visits the darkest of dysfunction as Dan, a journalist, visits various family members and others to learn more about his family’s past for his upcoming autobiographical play. Audiences travel alongside Dan on his journey from the Garden State Parkway to as far as Europe as he investigates a possible family secret. What makes this show unique is not only is it a mystery, but as the details unfold, how much of the truth do you really want to know about your family? Every family has their problems, but some secrets cannot be fathomed.

The House in Scarsdale stars the show’s own playwright Dan O’Brien as Dan and Alex Draper portrays several dynamic characters throughout the production. Draper seamlessly sinks right into each role, navigating an assortment of colorful characters from Dan’s resentful grandmother to his eccentric uncle. Draper is expressive and spirited, clearly enjoying each transition. His conversations with O’Brien have moments of dark humor, relatable family banter, and a good dose of stark, stirring honesty.

The show is figuratively and literally on a journey to learn more about Dan’s troubled family, a family so dysfunctional that poor Dan has been cast out of his family circle hence its ironic opening quote by John Cheever, ‘Come back, come back, my wretched, feeble and unwanted child.’ Dan understandably wants to know why. As Dan’s extended family recall his family’s wild tendencies and various psychoses, Dan’s low key and unassuming demeanor makes one think that perhaps he has been through much more than he lets on.

Dan is a quiet, inquisitive soul and depicts his emotional detachment with a skilled subtlety. His conflicted nature between trepidation and yearning is fascinating as he ventures deeper into his family history becoming so invested and anxious about what he might find, he even visits a psychic. Some of his family recollections are universal and lighthearted and every family has a degree of unhealthy dysfunction, but other memories are dreadfully concerning.

So, as some answers come to light and more questions arise, how much is Dan like his family and how much of the story can be trusted? The House in Scarsdale lures you in and leaves you engrossed in its outcome, hoping for a light at the end of this tunnel.

Potomac Theatre Project or PTC/NYC is located at 330 West 16th Street in New York City. Click here for more information and how to support PTP/NYC’s current and upcoming productions.

Milton Players present comedy, ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ as well as upcoming auditions

Posted on January 29, 2017 by The Sleepless Critic

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‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ cast Courtesy of Elizabeth Bean

Taking a zany, comedic look at a dysfunctional family’s bickering and grudges, Milton Players proudly present the Tony award-winning play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike through Sunday, February 5 in Canton, Massachusetts. The original, off-Broadway cast included Emmy and Tony award-winner David Hyde Pierce and Golden Globe-winner Sigourney Weaver. Click here for more information and tickets.

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Liz Echmen as Cassandra and Kevin Lowney as Vanya Courtesy of Elizabeth Bean

Written by Christopher Durang and directed by Wendy Stuart, Milton Players’ 84^th season offers a show about middle-aged siblings and their wild circumstances, culminating in a fight over their ancestral home. With sharp dialogue derived from Anton Chekhov, ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ feature local cast members Kevin Lowney as Vanya, Barbara Schapiro as Sonia, Claire Lukazcyn as Masha, Chris Cartier as Spike, Liz Eacmen as Cassandra, and Jana Urban-Geyer as Nina.

Jana Urban-Geyer as Nina and Chris Cartier as Spike Courtesy of Elizabeth Bean

Remaining performances take place on Friday, February 3 and Saturday, February 4 at 8 p.m. One matinee show will be held on Sunday, February 5 at 2 p.m. All shows are held at Brayton School Auditorium in Canton, Massachusetts. Click here for tickets, here for directions, call 617-698-7469, or email them at email@miltonplayers.org for further information.

Milton Players changes gears with their spring production, Frederick Knott’s ‘Dial M for Murder’ directed by Eric Stulb. Adapted into a thrilling film by Alfred Hitchcock, auditions will be held on Tuesday, February 7 and Wednesday, February 8 at 7 p.m. The show kicks off in April. Click here for more information on auditions and more. Follow Milton Players on Facebook for further updates.