17th Play - Among the Dead by Hansol Jung
Nahm Darr (Jesus) and Kyosin Kang (Number Four) in the Spooky Action Theatre production in DC in 2019. Photo courtesy of Spooky Action Theatre / Tony Hitchcock.
Reading this play after reading Cambodian Rock Band was … well, fun isn’t the right word, but interesting as these plays have a lot of similarities. Another time-shifting play about war atrocities committed on Asian peoples and countries, yay! This isn’t a “fun” play, although believe it or not, there is a lot of fun in it. Although it is heartbreaking at times, it is delightful and playful in others, and beautiful and fascinating. Also, Jesus is a character. Yes, that Jesus. I always enjoy that in a play! I liked this one a lot!
Summary: “Ana is a Korean American who travels to Seoul in 1975 to retrieve her recently deceased father’s ashes. Luke is a young American soldier fighting in the jungles of Myanmar in 1944. Number Four is the name of a Korean comfort woman camping out on a bridge in Seoul in 1950, waiting for the return of the young American soldier who fathered her daughter. Three separate time periods collide in a small hotel room in Korea, mediated by a shape-shifting Jesus who first shows up as a bellboy. Among the Dead is a dark comedy about a family broken apart by betrayed promises, and finding each other again through SPAM, journals, and Jesus. Mostly Jesus.” Concord Theatricals
Laura’s thoughts in brief: There are so many twists and turns in this play that I think some people had trouble with it. But I thought it was a brilliant way to tell this story, which is quite complex. The play has no easy answers, yet I found it satisfying.
Did you know what a Korean comfort woman was? I didn’t. There were approximately 200,000 Korean women kidnapped by the Japanese and made into sex slaves for the Japanese army during WWII. The character who plays this woman is named “Number Four” - the Japanese even took away their names. I wish this was a creative invention, but alas, it’s historically accurate. All that going against her (and more, sad), but this character is tough and wily and, believe it or not, sometimes fun.
There are a lot of things going on in this play. It’s Ana’s story, but through her we see it is really her father Luke’s and Number Four’s story, with Jesus playing all the random characters, including himself (sort of). That got a little confusing at times as I was reading, and it might get confusing to watch, but I think that character really helps bring the humor to this play. And, as I said about Cambodian Rock Band, I believe stories told with humor hit deeper than those without. One of the reviewers said it wonderfully, that the play “speaks of the totality of human history of displaced and traumatized people because the damage doesn’t go away with a hug and a ‘there, there,’ but there is some hope left for acceptance and thriving.” (Mary Ann Johnson, MD Theatre Guide)
I’m trying to write less about each play, as I get further and further behind with publishing my thoughts, but my main thought was that I LOVED this play. It was done recently in Chicago and I didn’t see it (I don’t even remember hearing about it, but that happens sometimes), so it will likely be a while before I get a chance to see it. It’s not my story to tell or be in, but I definitely want to see it one play. Read this play, do it! Beautiful, sad, and funny. My favorite kind of play!
READ MORE! Here’s what some of the critics had to say about productions:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/theater/among-the-dead-review.html
https://mdtheatreguide.com/2019/02/theatre-review-among-the-dead-at-spooky-action-theater/
https://www.broadstreetreview.com/articles/theatre-exile-presents-hansol-jungs-among-the-dead