*** Try to imagine your being an immigrant living in a country where the customs and traditions are not what you grew up with. Let’s go back to the 1970’s. Since the 1960’s many Asians were migrating to the United States. Korea, Viet Nam, the Philippines  and other areas where GI’s married them and brought them back or in some cases, learned that they had fathered a child and then brought them over. In “The Heart Sellers”, a comedy written by Lloyd Suh we meet two such ladies. Each is married and their husbands seem to spend more time at work than most, leaving them to fend for themselves.

This 90 minute ( no intermission) play is on the North stage at Northlight and is directed smoothly by Helen Young. The set by John Culbert  is quite realistic. We are in what one might call a “junior one bedroom” or an oversized “studio” apartment. It is Thanksgiving, and the two ladies involved in this story have done the shopping for this holiday. The apartment we are in is that of Luna ( a terrific character study by Aja Alcazar) and her new “bestie) Jane ( played to perfection by Seoyoung Park) is going to help prepare the festive dinner.

These ladies are from different countries and cultures, but as they spend time together, each brings to the table a little more knowledge and understanding of themselves to the other. They try to figure out what to do about preparing the “American Holiday meal”, do a little drinking, and as the evening wears down, they open up to each other about their lives and desires. The more they drink, the easier they find opening up. We, the audience, find ourselves understanding more about what it might be like to start over in a new land, learning new customs and traditions. These two ladies do this in a way that is both sincere and quite humorous.

I recall hearing stories from my grandparents about their coming to America and the adjustments they had to make. It seems that this never changes. I imagine that even today, those who have been forced to leave their countries that come here still have a lot of adjustments to make. The beauty of this play is the way the transitions are made and how realistic the two ladies are in conveying the emotions and feelings that a transplanted person might have.

The beauty of Northlight’s stage is that it is open ( no curtain) and we see everything. The set is perfect, the lighting (Maggie Fullilove-Nugent and Josiah Croegaert), the sound (Forest Gregor) and the costumes (Jessica Kuehnau Wardell) are right on and the properties ( there are tons of these) by Nicolas Bartleson, perfect!

 

“The Heart Sellers” will continue thru Feb 23rd with performances as follows: