Vietgone

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Vietgone

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  2w, 3m

“This riotous theatrical cartoon won me over with its simple honesty.” – Los Angeles Times

Image: 2016 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Carol Rosegg)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Biography, Romantic Comedy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 2016 LA Drama Critics Circle Ted Schmitt Award 
    Winner! 2016 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award

Details

Summary
An all-American love story about two very new Americans. It’s 1975. Saigon has fallen. He lost his wife. She lost her fiancé. But now in a new land, they just might find each other. Using his uniquely infectious style The New York Times calls “culturally savvy comedy” – and skipping back and forth from the dramatic evacuation of Saigon to the here and now – playwright Qui Nguyen gets up close and personal to tell the story that led to the creation of… Qui Nguyen.
History
Vietgone premiered at the South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, CA on October 24, 2015, under the direction of May Adrales.

QUANG – (M) A helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. Adventurous, charming, rugged.
TONG – (F) A Vietnamese refugee. Strong-willed, effortlessly sexy, and fiercely independent.
HUONG – (F) Tong’s mother. Outspoken, surprisingly flirtatious, unpredictable.
NHAN – (M) Quang’s best friend. Boisterous, loyal, horny.
BOBBY – (M) American soldier. Naïve, earnest, sweet.

Members of the ensemble may play a variety of supporting characters:

AMERICAN GIRL
AMERICAN GUY
ASIAN GIRL
ASIAN GUY
CAPTAIN CHAMBERS
FLOWER GIRL
GIAI
HIPPIE DUDE
NINJAS
PLAYWRIGHT
PROTESTORS
REDNECK
BIKER
TRANSLATOR

  • Time Period New Millennium/21st Century, 1970s
  • Setting Several locations over the journey of Quang and Tong from Saigon to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Play w/ Music, Stage Combat
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Drugs
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes
    • Smoking

Media

“Fresh and impish... a raucous comedy by Qui Nguyen that strafes just about every subject it tackles and every character it presents.” – The New York Times

CRITICS' PICK! “Vietgone is easily the freshest, most exuberantly youthful piece I’ve seen at MTC in ages: a punch-drunk mash-up of hip-hop, road movies, sex farce and Vietnamese-American history. Oh, also kick-ass fights.” – Time Out New York, Read More

“An unlikely intermingling of family play, history play, sex farce, action flick, and cultural critique. It is overtly rollicking and sneakily moving.” – The Guardian, Read More 

CRITICS' PICK! “A raucous comedy by Qui Nguyen that strafes just about every subject it tackles and every character it presents... Mr. Nguyen’s fresh and impish voice rarely lets up as he thumbs his nose at our expectations.” – The New York Times, Read More

Vietgone makes you believe that epic tales of heroism and loss exist all around us in this nation of immigrants.” – TheaterMania, Read More 

CRITICS' PICK! “Vietgone careens wildly, threatening whiplash to heighten our amusement. By the end, however, this riotous theatrical cartoon won me over with its simple honesty.” – Los Angeles Times, Read More 

Vietgone rides a wave of profane irreverence, sprawling storytelling, spiky humor, bald stereotypes and in the end a searing personal testament that honors the people on whose soil the war was fought... Nguyen understands confidently that his story possesses an intrinsic weight and he doesn’t need to preach. He writes with laughter, satire, anger and profanity.” – The Star Tribune, Read More

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

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Videos

  • Vietgone at MTC: Montage youtube thumbnail

    Vietgone at MTC: Montage

  • Qui Nguyen and May Adrales discuss Vietgone youtube thumbnail

    Qui Nguyen and May Adrales discuss Vietgone

  • Vietgone - South Coast Rep Excerpts youtube thumbnail

    Vietgone - South Coast Rep Excerpts

  • Vietgone - San Diego Rep Promo youtube thumbnail

    Vietgone - San Diego Rep Promo

Photos

  • Vietgone

    Image: 2016 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Carol Rosegg)

  • Vietgone

    Image: 2016 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Carol Rosegg)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance
  • Mandatory Music/Media Fee: $45 per performance

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Qui Nguyen

Qui Nguyen is a playwright, screenwriter, and co-founder of the Obie Award-winning Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company of NYC.

His plays include Vietgone (2016 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, 2016 LADCC Tim Schmitt Award, 2016 Edward M. Kennedy Prize finalist); War ...

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