|
ISBN: 978-0-573-69747-0
Lloyd Suh
Drama
3m, 2f
Steeped in the difficulty of reunification and reconciliation,
American Hwangap tells the story of Min Suk
Chun, who some 15 years earlier left his family in a
West Texas suburb to return to his native Korea. On the
occasion of his 60th birthday (hwangap), a milestone
signifying the completion of the Eastern Zodiac and a
type of rebirth, he returns to his ex-wife and now adult
children as they struggle to reconcile their broken past
with the mercurial, verbose and often exasperating
patriarch now back at the head of the table. Through a
tense birthday weekend filled with humor, heartbreak
and half-filled expectations, this American hwangap
and its aftermath bears a family not quite whole but still
somehow transformed, and not quite happy but still
somehow beautiful. “A delight to watch.” —The New York
Times “Touching family drama.” —Variety “As refreshingly
original in its point of view as in its quirky humor
and affecting relationships.” —San Francisco Gate
FEE: $75 per performance Character Descriptions: MIN SUK CHUN - 59, a Korean immigrant to the US, returned to Korea and now back again. Probably either tall, large, or otherwise imposing. His English is actually quite good though rusty, it comes and goes, but he speaks quickly, often and confidently even when he doesn’t have the words.
MARY CHUN - 58, his ex-wife. Reinvented. A modern Asian-American woman. Speaks proficient English, though may be tinged with only a very slight accent.
RALPH CHUN - 29, their youngest son. Brilliant, damaged. Lives in his mother’s basement.
ESTHER CHUN - 31, their daughter. Twice divorced, a perpetual student. Unsettled.
DAVID CHUN - 34, their eldest son. An investment banker. Away.
|
