Aubergine
Tickets from $75 Buy Tickets
Cititour.com Review
The term “food for thought” may be a cliché in theatrical reviews, but I can’t find words more applicable for Julia Cho’s “Aubergine,” an affecting family drama about the power of memory, words, and, above all, food, now receiving its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons. Covering all-too-familiar ground, it’s not an altogether satisfying play, but there are many moments where your taste buds – well, your ears to be more precise – will explode with pleasure.
The work focuses on Ray (a well-cast Tim Kang), a nearly 40-year-old chef with unresolved daddy issues – a particular problem since Dad (Stephen Park) is dying and unable to speak. Yet as the piece unfolds, their relationship actually becomes more complex, both in its backstory and the present day, as we learn more about the inner lives of each man. Still, Ray still comes off too often as a man-child who refuses to grow up, and it comes as little surprise to disover that his girlfriend, the younger yet more mature Cornelia (Sue Jean Kim), has lost patience with him.
Rather, the most unexpected, and delightful, turn in the work is the arrival of the father’s long-estranged brother from Korea (the wonderful Joseph Steven Yang), (Indeed, much of what he says is in Korean, and is projected on the wall of Derek McLane’s simple set). He initially appears simple and foolish, but (again, no surprise), he proves to be one of the true fonts of wisdom in the piece.
The second one is the kindly hospice worker Lucien (a fabulous Michael Potts), who imparts real truths about life and death. He is also the person who gives Ray the titular aubergine – an eggplant in American terms – and, who, like all the characters, waxes rhapsodic about food and memory. Indeed, the strongest parts of the play are the many various monologues about what food means to these people, even the seemingly oddly unconnected opening speech by a rich white woman (Jessica Love) who talks about her travels to Yountville and cracks joke about El Bulli.
As superb as these many monologues are, all handled deftly by the cast and director Kate Whoriskey, you can’t help but wish that Cho had spent the same amount of time and energy on crafting actual dialogue. What ultimately makes “Aubergine” feel a bit undercooked is how rarely the characters actually talk to each other. From such a seasoned playwright, one expects a four-star, completely fulfilling meal, rather than one that leaves you a little hungry and a bit underwhelmed. Then again, eggplant is notoriously difficult to prepare well.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/aubergine
Cast
Tim Kang, Sue Jean Kim, Jessica Love, Stephen Park, Michael Potts, Joseph Steven Yang
Open/Close Dates
Opening 8/19/2016
Closing 10/2/2016
Box Office
212-279-4200
Theatre Info
Playwrights Horizons
416 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
Comments
Sign up for our newsletter !