@showsiveseen Yilong Liu's "June is the First Fall" #play by Yun Theatre at Theatre Off Jackson starring @Seba. Finally, a show with a #gaysian perspective! Lots of "awws" from the audience. Closes 6/27. #gay #lgbt #theatre #showsiveseen #asian #chinese ♬ Fly Me To The Moon – 林培鈞
Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Yilong Liu’s June is the First Fall play by Yun Theatre at Theatre Off Jackson starring Sebastian Wang. Finally, a show with a gaysian perspective! Lots of “awws” from the audience. #gay #lgbt
See it if you want to support Asian theatre or gay-themed theatre.
My Synopsis (No Spoilers): The prodigal gaysian son comes home from the Big Apple and confronts the past that he left behind.
Synopsis from the Licensor or Theatre Company: Written by Lilong Liu, June is the First Fall tells the story of Don, a gay Chinese man, who returns home to Hawaii to rediscover missing memories of his family that he moved away from. This return opens up wounds that never healed, revealing the struggles in this family to find love, acceptance, and belonging.
Attended Performance Date: Opening Night 7/11/24
Type: Play
World Premiere: No
Several or Few Scenes: Several
Several or Few Settings/Locations: Most of the story took place in the living room of a childhood home
Static (Stationary) Set? Yes
Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: No, but you’d probably enjoy this play more if you’re gay or Asian.
Defined Plot/Storyline: It veered more toward a dialogue play than an action play.
Equity Actors: 0
Total Number of Actors: 5
Perceived Pace of the Show: Slow to medium speed
Was there an intermission? No
Length (Including Any Intermission): 100 minutes
Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show? Yes
Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? No
Mainstream Appeal: Low to medium
Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned Above
- Favorite Line: Something like “Grindr is Facebook for gays.” “But they don’t have any faces!”
- Bombshell: The “relationship” reveal in the second half of the play was a good bombshell for traditional parents.
Rant(s)
- A/C: I don’t think Theatre Off Jackson has “air con.” It was a bit warm what with the well-sized audience and the spotlights.
- Translation: The lines spoken in Chinese needed English subtitles.
Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)
- Main Character Relatability: I’m torn regarding my feelings about the main character Don (played by Sebastian Wang), who was a gay Asian. As a gaysian myself, I mostly did not identify with his character. Maybe it’s because I live a more conservative lifestyle than Don or the typical gay guy. Or maybe it’s because my coming out experience was good. But honestly, his coming out experience wasn’t that bad in my book. In fact, his coming out experience was pretty tame other than a senseless tragedy that was only associated because of temporal sequential proximity. I felt like Don was unnecessarily maudlin, bitter, angsty, sensitive, and self-isolated. Wait … on second thought, maybe I can actually relate to him and I’m just projecting! 😛
- Tension: On a similar note, the tensions felt throughout the play didn’t seem merited. The conflicts didn’t substantiate why the characters treated each other so apprehensively. Like, can the playwright add an unforgivable scandalous betrayal somewhere to make things more interesting?
- Mooncakes: I’m not sure what they served at concessions, but it would have been so fitting if they handed out mooncakes after the opening night performance.
Theatre Company: Yun Theatre and Theatre Off Jackson
Venue: Theatre Off Jackson
Venue Physical Address: 409 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Price Range: $30
Ticket Affordability Options: You can self-select the $20 “access” ticket option on the ticketing website.
Dates: July 11 to 27, 2024
Seating: General Admission
Parking: Paid street parking is usually available north of the theatre on the hill close to the park. You can also try free parking on Jackson Street under/past the I-5 bridge, though it’s a dodgier area. As usual, there are paid parking lots nearby as well.
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Pictures: See pictures below and in video by Elodie Li.
