People Are Bitches

Bald Sisters

Every individual is the product of his or her family. There’s no escaping it. Each of us are the sum total of our background, our upbringing, our choices and all of our life experiences. This includes our culture, particularly if we’ve immigrated to the United States from another country. In Vichet Chum’s latest play, now enjoying its world premiere in Chicago, the audience is introduced to a Cambodian/American family, now living in Texas. In his 100 minute one-act, Chum presents an emotionally wrenching, yet unexpectedly hilarious, portrait of three women trying to deal with everything that life throws at them.

As the play opens, Ma, the strong, dominating matriarch of the family, lay in a hospital bed on death’s door. Upon her passing, her eldest daughter, Him, must not only cope with the emotional impact of her mother’s death, but also plan Ma’s funeral. To complicate matters, Him is currently going through the miseryof chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. She’s also inherited the family home, which she and Nate, her minister husband, have been sharing with Ma. The task of sorting and clearing out her mother’s belongings rests with Him. But when her feisty, rebellious younger sister, Sophea, suddenly shows up at the house, Him finds the emotional reunion with her estranged sibling more than she can handle. Yet, in spite of all the histrionics, this one-act overflows with an abundance of surprising humor that helps temper the drama.

Jesca Prudencio has directed this in-the-round production with so much precise clarity. Particularly known for developing new works, Ms Prudencio has obviously inspired her talented actors to trust her vision. She has the ability to tell Chum’s story with a great deal of honesty and compassion. The cast is led by the terrific Jennifer Lim as Him. Ms Lim, who appeared in “Chinglish” both in Chicago and New York, delivers a passionate, multilayered performance that will remain with audiences forever. Her character, who is losing her hair to the chemo, has so many obstacles to overcome; and this gifted actress attacks each with a ferocity that is, at once, inspiring and sympathetic. 

Francesca Fernandez McKenzie, whose theatrical credits range from Off-Broadway to several regional venues, is incredible as Sophea. With her Buddhist-inspired shaved head, dangling jewelry and sexy clothing, Ms McKenzie creates a mischievous malcontent, who seems only to want to shake things up and cause trouble, while having as much fun as possible. Her character looks for any emotional scab to pick at until they bleed, creating continual discord and lots of family friction.

Ma, as played with spirit and frisky fun by Wai Ching Ho, is the undisputed star of this play. In flashbacks, we come to know this hilarious character as a woman who always gets her way. Portrayed with drive and a determination to achieve anything she sets her mind to accomplish, Ms Ho is wonderful. Whenever Ma appears, as a fond memory or to fill in moments of the family’s Cambodian history, we know we’re in for a treat. Her character is a muck-mouthed firecracker of a woman who tells Seth, the Syrian lawn boy, played by the talented and handsome Nima Rakhshanifar, that as an old Asian lady she can say anything and Americans think she’s “cute.” When she proclaims that “People are bitches,” we laugh, and then we speculate that, in many cases, the old lady is absolutely correct.

The cast is completed by Coburn Goss, as Him’s American husband, Nate. As the only actor among this cast to have previously appeared on the Steppenwolf stage, Mr. Goss sports a resume that features many other Chicago theatres, as well. He portrays a genial, happy-go-lucky Texas clergyman, a positive spouse who serves as the buffer for all the turmoil that occurs within this family. But despite being a man of the cloth, Nate has a few skeletons in his own closet that become exposed.

Vichet Chum’s story of a Cambodian immigrant family is filled with fascinating people and constant surprises and plot twists. In some ways this play reminded me a little of “Cambodian Rock Band,” with an elderly character who delights the audience with humor, while delivering all the truths. But this playwright seems to be saying to the audience that, despite having survived a devastating heritage, this could be our very own family. The problems and complications experienced by Him, her mother, sister, husband and gardener might actually be similar to the lives we know. But through Chum’s unexpected humor and dramatic events, coupled with the electrifying portrayal of these five memorable characters, we come away from Jesca Prudencio’s sublime production with new knowledge. We realize that people, although sometimes bitches, are really all quite a bit alike.               

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented December 1-January 15 by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the Steppenwolf box office, by calling 312-335-1650, or by going to www.steppenwolf.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.