Vietgone

Vietgone

Manhattan Theatre Club

NY City Center Stage I

November 25, 2016

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

Vietgone is Qui Nguyen’s play presently running at Manhattan Theatre Club’s NY City Center Stage I.  This phenomenal script offers a valuable perspective on the experience of the refugees from the Vietnam War.  The characters lose their homes, their families, and their country.  They struggle to let go of the past in order to build a future for themselves in the United States, but they never forget who they are.

Quang (played by Raymond Lee) is a Vietnam helicopter pilot who rescues women and children when Saigon is invaded.  He is unable to get back to save his wife and two children.  Tong (played by Jennifer Ikeda) is given two tickets to the United States to escape the invasion.  She takes her mother, leaving her brother and fiancé behind.  These two characters meet in a refugee camp in Arkansas.  Quang vows to return to his family in Vietnam.  Tong battles with her mother, identity as an Asian woman, and deep fears of intimacy.  Their commonalities bind them in their journey of assimilation in a country and culture that knows nothing about who they are and what they have seen.

Raymond Lee, Jon Hoche, & Jennifer Ikeda
Photo courtesy of Mnhattan Theatre Club

May Adrales has directed a stellar cast who delivers realistic scenes and relationships that are touching, humorous, and poignant.  Jon Hoche, Jennifer Ikeda, Raymond Lee, Samantha Quan, and Paco Tolson join forces as an ensemble to entertain and enlighten the audience with the journey of their characters.  The set (designed by Anthony Tran), lighting (designed by Justin Townsend), and projections (designed by Jared Mezzocchi) create an atmosphere that incite the imagination and focuses the audience intensely on the action of the play.  

Jon Hoche & Raymond Lee
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

In the final scene Mr. Nguyen makes a mind-blowing statement about the Unites States’ involvement in the Vietnam War.  It is from the perspective of a Vietnamese character who fought and lost everything.  It is noble and heroic, and unlike any political point of view we have heard on this subject.  You must see this play to experience the impact of this moment. 

Vietgone runs through December 4.  You have to see this show!

Domenick Danza