“Tiger Style!”

[rating=5] The Immigrant experience! We hear about this on a fairly regular basis, but for most of us, living the actual experience is not something that we truly know. It is what we have been told by our parents and grandparents. The news has stories about those that are coming here from Mexico and of late, the numbers that have come from the Ukraine. Playwright Mike Lew’s fun-filled comedy “Tiger Style!” takes a look at the Chinese American heritage. This is a story about a family where brother, Albert (played to perfection by Christopher Thomas Pow) a computer genius and his sister, Jennifer (a dynamic character built by Aurora Adachi Winter) a doctor, both living the dream, find that they are not truly living the life they wanted, but instead the life that Mom and Dad chose for them.

While they have been well educated and are wonderful musicians to boot, it seems that all their hard work and practice left them little time to develop social skills needed to compete in their adult lives. After getting passed over for a promotion , Albert tells Jennifer, who has just been dumped by her boyfriend that it is all the fault of their parents. While the concept doesn’t ring true as comic material, woven as Lew does and directed to perfection by Brian Balcom, this is a laugh a minute escape from reality for every audience member.

Lew takes us into their hearts and souls as both Asian Americans and then in the second act as Americans who go back to China to take on a new lease on life, only to find out that part of what they were taught as children, despite not feeling right to them, was in fact the true lesson of family and tradition.

What makes this production so special is the characters that surround them. There are a number of different characters that cross paths with this brother and sister and all of them are played by three other performers in the show. These actors are amazing! Rammel Chan is outstanding as Melvin (Albert’s boss), General Tso( his employer in China), Dad and Tzi Chuan, a character we meet in the opening scene  of the play and then when the kids get to China. Garrett Lutz is hysterical as Russ the Bus ( Albert’s co-worker), Reggie ( Jennifer’s lost lover) and as the Customs guy when they come back to Los Angeles for the finale. He is a hoot! Last but not least is Deanna Myers as their mom, their cousin Chen, Jennifer’s therapist and the Matchmaker ( in China). This trio of performers truly brings energy and life to the characters they portray.

Along the way, these young siblings learn a great deal about their family, their heritage and life itself. We’ve all heard the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side” and it is very true. We often do not see what is right in front of us. The ending of the show is something special. To find out what it is, you need to see this production and it is well worth finding the time to do so.

The set (Lauren M. Nichols) is simple but allows for the changes of scenes quickly. By the way, the three stagehands are terrific. Besides moving items in and out, they are kind of characters doing little bits along the way. They come out for the curtain call ( which they should) but they are not mentioned in the program- great work crew!

The lighting (Lee Fiskness), sound (Forrest Gregor) and costumes (Christine Pascual) are all perfect and Rae Watson’s props are right on! The fight and intimacy choreography by Courtney Abbott and the wardrobe crew ( I feel the need to mention them in that they are the people who assist in the myriad of quick changes the trio of characters have to do, and they could never handle on their own) Janelle Smith and Annaliese Voci.

If the world news is getting you down and you need a true break from reality and a few hours of laughter, this is it! DO NOT MISS!  Run time about two hours with a 15 minute intermission.  Face Masks required IN the Nichols Theatre.

“Tiger Style!” will continue at Writers Theatre located at 325 Tudor Ct. in Glencoe thru October 30th with performances as follows:

Wednesdays  3 p.m.   and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  3 p.m. and  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Tickets range from $35 and are available by calling 847-242-6000 or online at www.writerstheatre.org

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Tiger Style!”.