An Odd Couple

The Heart Sellers

Luna spots Jane at the store while shopping for groceries. Both women have seen each other before, but have never actually spoken. So, feeling kind of lonely, Luna invites Jane to join her for dinner at the cramped studio apartment she shares with her husband, a doctor-in-training at the University. Luna tells Jane that, really, she’s not a weirdo. She just felt that Jane, a fellow Asian immigrant out shopping alone, might like to share Thanksgiving with someone. And, over the course of the next 90 minutes, a lovely friendship emerges.

At first, we think that these two young women couldn’t be more different. They certainly seem like an odd couple of companions. Luna is loud, outgoing, talks a mile a minute and laughs after everything she says. Jane is shy and quiet, not totally comfortable conversing in English and unsure about this new, overly gregarious young woman. But Jane is polite, and she eventually loosens up a bit and joins in Luna’s never-ending discussion about their lives. Aided by generous mugs of wine, the conversation and camaraderie begins to flow easily. And before we know it, both women have become willing to give this new acquaintanceship a chance.

Talented Korean-American playwright Lloyd Suh (THE CHINESE LADY, AMERICAN HWANGAP) has given us a charming play that’s very funny and, yet, at times heartbreaking. Throughout this marvelous character study, the two women break down the barriers of unfamiliarity and begin to feel more comfortable. Luna and Jane start to discover their common ground. The two new friends share the hardships of being an immigrant in a new country, an idea which is made particularly meaningful for the audience. Both women are lonely since they stay home by themselves while their husbands work long hours during the night and early morning. Luna and Jane confess that they each spend their days watching lots of television and listening to American music. An admission that Luna and Jane both love “Soul Train” launches into a delightful impromptu dance party that almost stops the show. 

The title of Lloyd Suh’s sweet, warmhearted comedy is a play on words. Luna imagines the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, otherwise known as the Hart-Celler Act, not as legislature that repealed immigration quotas. Instead, she pictures immigration as something that demands a fee from those relocating to the United States. Luna sees herself, as she arrived at the Customs desk in the American airport, ripping out her beating heart and selling it to the authorities, as payment for living in this country. By making this sacrifice, Luna feels that, like all immigrants, she’s no longer able to feel anything for others, both any new American companions as well as her own beloved family and friends back home.

Directed with love and sensitivity by Helen Young, her two actors are fantastic. Aja Alcazar (Goodman’s THE PENELOPIAD, Drury Lane’s RING OF FIRE) plays Luna with spunky, giddy passion. Jumping from topic to topic in an attempt to draw her guest into conversation, Luna’s dialogue sounds like non sequiturs or a crazy quilt stream of thought. Then suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Ms. Alcazar’s character becomes sad and starts thinking and talking about her family, so far away in the Philippines. Making her Northlight debut, Seoyoung Park is lovely as Jane. She’s reserved, soft-spoken and self-conscious, particularly at the beginning of the play. But as the two women bond over preparing Thanksgiving dinner, Jane takes the lead. She tells Luna that she’s familiar with cooking a turkey, not from actual experience, but from watching Julia Child on television. And once her hostess breaks open the bottle of wine, and both Jane and Luna indulge, any differences they had previously simply melt away.

John Culbert’s realistic and detailed Set Design of a 1970’s university town apartment makes this story feels especially authentic and comforting. Jessica Kuehnau Wardell’s Costumes are like a visual extension of each character. Her “At Home” clothes in the final scene of the play are particularly bright and cheerful, just like the characters. And a perfectly curated Sound Design by Forrest Gregor keeps the tone of the play natural and real. 

As the two new friends share oven-roasted yams and wine the conversation becomes easier. Jane slowly comes out of her shell and warms up to her newfound friend. Luna eventually drops her artificial mask of being the overly-affable hostess and confesses her true feelings about marriage, America and a desire to travel. At first what seems like an odd couple gradually evolves into two best of friends. Both women discover that they share a desire for adventure and an interest in the arts: Jane is a painter who wants to visit the Louvre, while Luna is a talented singer who enjoys all kinds of music. By the final scene, this beautifully moving story about friendship and discovering our place in the world becomes an exceptionally entertaining and enlightening evening of theatre.        

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented January 23-February 23 by Northlight Theatre, located in the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL.

Tickets are available in person at the theatre box office, by calling 847-673-6300, or by going to www.northlight.org.

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