'VIETGONE'
is one of OSF's
outrageously
best ever
Beti Webb Trauth
For the Times-Standard
It's almost impossible to write a
review to fully capture the absolute
uniqueness of the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival's world premiere production of
playwright Qui Nguyen's fascinating
creation, “Vietgone,” that's now running in the intimate Thomas Theatre
throughout the company's 2016 season. But I'll try.
Nguyen, the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Obie Award-winning,
New York-based theatre company,
Vampire Cowboys, was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. His South Vietnamese
parents (whose personal love story
inspired the play) met at a relocation
camp in Fort Chaffe, Arkansas as two
of the nearly 139,000 refugees evacuated by the U.S. military in 1975 after
the fall of Saigon.
His father, Quang, was a fighter pilot
who was married (at the time) to a wife
(not Nguyen's mother) and had two
small children—who he had to unwillingly leave behind, but was determined
to return to again. To return to his home
in Vietnam. But, this was not to be.
When he meets fellow camp refugee,
the feisty and independent Tong—a
Vietnamese embassy worker who came
to the camp with her even more outspoken mother, Huong—he is immediately
attracted and the pair begin a passionate, but “uncommitted,” relationship
that eventually, unwillingly becomes
much, much more.
That is the basis of the playwright's
memory play, an ever-shifting kaleido-
scopic view of pieces
of his parents' back
story he gathered from
them, bit by bit, when
he was able to get
them to “share” their
lives with him. But the
most remarkable thing
about “Vietgone” is
that it is not only about
them, but gives us a Photo by Jenny Graham, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
completely
different Quang (James Ryen) and Nhan (Will Dao) have
take and perspective (Paco Tolson).
of the turbulent Viet(and loved ones) now gone, “Vietgone,”
nam War era from the viewpoint of that
and valiantly (sometimes surprisingly,
nation's people who were involved in
ridiculously over-the-top funny) forward
what was their own civil war. And, how
as newly-minted Americans.
much they appreciated what the U.S.
Of the five cast members, only two
did during that time, even though it was
play one role: James Ryen is riveting
a lost cause.
as the central, father-figure, Quang;
Incorporating vivid imagery, rollickand Jeena Yi balances him perfectly as
ing American rock and roll 1960's
mother-figure, Tong.
music, raunchy rap, and often poetiThey “tell” their love story as it should
cally profane language, the production
be told. And it's unforgettable.
seamlessly and startlingly veers from
The remaining three ensemble memprofound seriousness to steamy sexualbers, Will Dao, Amy Kim Wasche, and
ity and outrageously campy comedy to
Paco Tolson (replaced in September ununexpected and touching poignant entil the end of the October run by Moses
lightenment.
Villarama), flamboyantly nail a broad
The script brilliantly spotlights what
spectrum of multiple roles of various nait's like to “be a stranger in a strange
tionalities and genders with non-stop,
land,” trying to communicate in the
remarkable flexibility and defined charmidst of speaking your own language
acterizations that keep the audience
and hearing what someone else is sayenthralled and entertained throughout.
ing in another language translated into
The show's inventive staging inyours.
corporates the “geek theater” genre
Directed with care and flair by May
pioneered by the playwright's VamAdrales, the OSF ensemble cast is supire Cowboy's New York company, a
perb at capturing every nuance of the
style described as “grounded in comic
characters' many moods as they move
books, martial arts, video games,” that
from dealing with the loss of a home
a run-in with a redneck biker
feature “super-heroes, kung fu fights
and infectiously dark comedy.” It certainly does.
The vivid scenic and costume designs
by Sara Ryung Clement are absolutely
great, as are all of the technical elements of this fabulous production. These
include the lighting design by Seth Reiser, the video design by Shawn Duan,
and the music and sound design composed and created by Shane Rettig.
Behind the scenes credit for adding
to the show's excellence also goes to
dramaturg, Lydia G. Garcia; voice and
text director, David Carey; fight director, Qui Nguyen, assisted by U. Jonathan Toppo; hip-hop coach, Claudia
Alick; and production stage manager,
Karl Alphonso, assisted by Rebecca
Rowlett.
“Vietgone” is an amazing piece of
contemporary theatre that musn't be
missed—that is, if you can score a ticket
to this sure-to-be-sold-out OSF winner before it closes. I advise you to pounce on
one ASAP by calling1-800-219-8161, or
go to www.osfashland.org Good luck!
4
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