Vietgone – Play with Music – Review – Pork Filled Productions, SIS Productions, & Theatre Off Jackson – Shows I've Seen

@showsiveseen Qui Nguyen's "Vietgone" #play w/ #rap music by @Pork Filled Productions, SIS Productions, & Theatre Off Jackson. Starring Josh Erme and Megan Huynh. Basically #Vietnamese Hamilton. Refreshing to experience stories through an #Asian American lens. Closes 8/24. Review: showsiveseen.com/9426 Photos: @giaoo2 Director: @Suginamimi Music Director: @YUELAN 乐澜 Music: Shane Rettig Stage Manager: Omar Faust #vietgone #vietnam #viet #refugee #refugees #asians #theatre #showsiveseen #asians ♬ Cheeky – Albert Posis & Patrick Hizon

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone play w/ rap music by Pork Filled Productions, SIS Productions, & Theatre Off Jackson. Basically, Vietnamese Hamilton. Refreshing to experience stories through an Asian American lens. #refugee

Recommendation
See it, especially if you’re Asian American.

My Synopsis (No Spoilers): A gallant Vietnamese pilot who fought for the Republic of Vietnam against the Viet Cong travels from an Arkansas refugee camp across the USA trying to return home overseas. In contrast, a beautiful Vietnamese woman flees Vietnam and embraces assimilation in the USA.

Synopsis from the Licensor or Theatre Company: Arkansas, 1974, after the fall of Saigon. Two young survivors (who may or may not be the play-wright’s parents) meet in America. Will this strange new land of burritos, bikers, and pot allow them to fall in love? Flipping stereotypes and remixing history, Vietgone cooks up a sexy, funny romp that’s a secret origin story for playwright Qui Nguyen (author of Raya and the Last Dragon)!

Attended Performance Date: Opening Night 8/9/24 – Keep your eyes peeled for preview posts on my website and social media if you want earlier notification of shows I’ve seen. Buy your tickets now since the show closes on 8/24!

Type: Play with Rap Music

World Premiere: No

Several or Few Scenes: Several

Several or Few Settings/Locations: Several

Static (Stationary) Set? Mostly yes, since it’s such a small theatre.

Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: No, but you’d probably enjoy this show more if you’re Asian American. I doubt Asians without an American background would appreciate it nearly as much as Asian Americans.

Defined Plot/Storyline: Yes

Live Band/Orchestra: Yes

Equity Actors: 0

Total Number of Actors: 5

Perceived Pace of the Show: Medium speed

Was there an intermission? Yes

Length (Including Any Intermission): 2.75 hours

Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show? No, I previously attended Vietgone at Seattle Rep.

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? Maybe, but twice might be enough for me. It would definitely need to be another professional production like the one I saw at Seattle Rep … not to say that this one was bad.

Mainstream Appeal: Medium

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned Above

Asian Perspective and Representation: As an Asian American who grew up in Texas, it’s always refreshing (dare I say “novel”) to see Asian perspectives and representation on the stage. We’re not the “cultural other” in this story. Instead of Asian Americans speaking incomprehensibly, it was the other way around where the white American characters spoke weird broken English to depict their difficulty speaking Vietnamese. There were also many references in the play about living in a white-dominated society that many non-Asians wouldn’t understand. Additionally, it was a welcome change seeing the male romantic lead as an Asian man (Joshua M Erme as Quang) with sex appeal, muscular physique (Gurrrrl, look at that body!), and a masculine profession in the armed forces. This representation is still so important today even in the woke PNW where I know a half-Asian kid who literally expressed that they didn’t want their Asian features. Role models and goals!
Rap: Vietgone is a play with rap music. This production also incorporated a live band. The group sitting behind me said “I didn’t know this would be like Hamilton!” Personally, I’m not a fan of rap and I think Hamilton was good, but not amazing. However, I recognize the talent and skill involved in writing and executing the rap music in these two shows. My favorite song was Tong’s (played by Meghan Huynh) first number at the beginning.
Food Gag: As a vegetarian, I can totally relate to the running commentary throughout the show that American food is generally all meat or deep-fried greasy vegetables. There’s a reason why I hate eating at American food restaurants. In contrast, Vietnamese cuisine is so fresh with many vegetables. It might be my favorite cuisine.
Montages: The “days of the week” montage was a bit unnecessary and corny, but the Ninja montage was pretty good. It was a nice touch that the band even participated on-stage in this scene, especially Yuelan on the retro 80s keyboard. Side note, I was so concerned about the banana prop on the floor after a racing scene. If that wasn’t intentional, Huong (played by Wendy Chinn) improvised a good funny save.
Contrasting Motivation: The playwright devised contrasting motivations between the lead characters well. Quang was torn from his home country and wanted to go back while Tong fled her home country and was focused on American assimilation.
Favorite Line: “North and South Vietnam may be at war, but at least we’re not fighting each other over something as stupid as the way we look [like the Americans].”

Rant(s)

Temperature: Theatre Off Jackson is always too hot in the summer.

Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)

Shadow Boxes: Rectangular stage pieces switch positions throughout the show to indicate location changes. These structures need to be thicker to look less flimsy and to be less precariously fall prone. They fell at least once during opening night.
Reverse Racism: The script contains some mild racist jabs towards Caucasians. These quips were rooted in the shared trauma of the racism and microaggressions that Asians experienced throughout the years and even today. While the jokes were funny and I would assume most white people today wouldn’t be terribly offended, when do the jokes become inappropriate? When does reverse racism reverse back to straight up racism? If the shoe was on the other foot against Asians, these jokes definitely wouldn’t be received as well. It reminds me of Avenue Q‘s funny and insightful song “Eveyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”
Last Scene (No Spoiler): The last scene felt a bit out of place from the rest of the show. It was a different energy and I’m not sure I fully grasped or agreed with the message. It presented a novel perspective about the Vietnam war different from what Americans conventionally believe. Does this perspective apply to the war in Ukraine or Palestine? Should the USA be the police officer of the world?

Theatre Company: Pork Filled Productions and SIS Productions

Venue: Theatre Off Jackson

Venue Physical Address: 409 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104

Price Range: $10-50

Dates: August 9 to August 24, 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 Giao Nguyen.

Cast and Production Team: See after pictures below.