“Hello Kitty Must Die” Edinburgh Festival Fringe reviewed by Martha Hudak

The title of this musical left me thinking it would be a satire on the iconic children’s cartoon. Rather, it’s a send-up of attacking the stereotype of Asian women who are expected to have bleached blonde hair, wear red stiletto shoes and be submissive to their men.

The lead character is Fiona Yu (Sami Ma), an almost 30-year-old Chinese American lawyer and virgin, for whom her father is actively trying to find a husband one week before her 30th birthday. The array of men he arranges for her, starting with the first blind date at a karaoke bar, expect her to be the traditional Asian woman. Oh yes, she’s a lawyer who works 80 hours a week, and these are not the type of men suitable for her.

She buys a dildo and names it Happy Face, and there’s a scene where she explains the outcome of its first use. About this time, an Asian girl is murdered and the play takes a turn to black comedy. Fiona decides to murder the men she’s been forced to date. “Assholes are always true to their nature,” she says.

It’s no more Hello Kitty, the symbolism for the traditional Asian female. The story performed by Asian American women is about Asian American women. Fiona is angry about the type of men her father has chosen for her and realizes it’s time to get rid of bad men by taking out her anger on them. Her murders are made to look accidental, such as one man with a peanut allergy. She sneaks contents of a Snickers bar to him, and he toes into anaphylaxis shock.

The gist of her murder rampage needs to be more obvious as she starts the rampage. When I caught onto the concept, it reminded me of a 1990’s movie called, The Last Supper, where liberal Iowa students invite a conservative to dinner to murder and bury the body in the tomato garden.

The concept is entertaining and a message that needs to be exposed. Sami Ma does a fine job of acting. Her singing and other cast members tend to be weak on volume and not always hitting the note. Their energy and conviction to the storyline helps overcome this.

Hello Kitty Must Die makes its world premiere from the producer of Six, also first produced at the Edinburg Festival Fringe. The story is based on the novel by Kate Kamen (formerly Angela S Choi), who says, “Even little yellow girls can be sick, twisted, and dark.” Adaptors are Gail Rastofer and Kurt Johns.