What Became of Us

 What Became of Us
Atlantic Stage 2 Theater
May 18, 2024 

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

Shayan Lotfi’s play, What Became of Us, takes the audience on an intimate and emotional journey in the relationship between two siblings.  It is masterfully crafted, uniquely structured, and tenderly written.  The Atlantic Theatre Company production is beautifully directed by Jennifer Chang.  She allows the actor to discover precise moments to reveal their vulnerability.  The characters open their hearts to one another and the audience.  They grow and change over a lifetime of shared and distant experiences.

We first meet Q (played by Rosalind Chao), who tells of when her parents made the decision to immigrate from the old county.  She is a young girl, fascinated by the adventure they are about to embark upon.  She easily tells of her parents selling candies and snacks outside office buildings, then opening their own newsstand, then purchasing the corner store.  Her life changes when her brother, Z (played by BD Wong) is born.  She takes responsibility for his care.  He is everything to her, as she is everything to him. 

BD Wong & Rosalind Chao
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

Q and Z continue to tell their stories, directly addressing the audience and referring to one another in the second person.  Their identities develop into their adolescent and teen years.  They become more independent of one another, yet are fully aware of each other’s feelings.  Q remains conservative and connected to her parents.  Z becomes rebellious and makes different choices.  When their parents are killed in a car accident, they find themselves full of unresolved emotions, causing resentment.  They separate.  Years go by without contact.  Z gets married and has a son, the “golden child.”  After six years, he asks his father why he has no other family.  This motivates Z to call his sister.  They re-unite with a different sense of themselves, and are able to connect on a new level. 

Rosalind Chao and BD Wong are phenomenal.  They are fully connected, even though all their dialogue is direct address.  This connection is inherent in everything they do and say.  It morphs as the characters grow and change.  These transitions are clearly mapped out in the writing.  During the first portion of the play, the characters start all their lines with “You…” as they tell the story of how and what the other character did, said, and felt.  All of their thoughts are consumed with the other’s point of view.  The second section, when the characters are estranged, their lines all start with “I” statements, as they share their own thoughts, isolated from anyone else.  In the third and final section, their lines start with “I” statements, followed by a sentence starting with “You...”  The characters have come to a place where their mutual feelings and perspectives mold and shape their experiences.  It doesn’t matter if they agree or are in conflict.  They are able to connect, share, and commune.  This is beautifully writing.  Rosalind Chao and BD Wong embrace these words, and deliver poignant performances. 

Tony Shalhoub, Shohren Aghdashloo, BD Wong, & Rosalind Chao
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

What Became of Us is playing at Atlantic Stage 2 Theater.  There are two casts.  BD Wong and Rosalind Chao are performing through June 15.  Tony Shalhoub and Shohren Aghdashloo will step in from June 10 through June 29.  These casting decisions are aligned with Mr. Lotfi’s vision for his play.  His intention “has always been that the roles would alternate between separate parings of actors from different diasporic backgrounds.”  It is sure to be a different experience with the two different casts.  Get your tickets while they last.

Domenick Danza