“If you wanna find out who the Khmer Rouge are today, look at those who are alive.” And with that line from Francois Chau who plays “Dr. Heng,” you have a perfect understanding about the complexity and depth of this production because sometimes good and evil and right and wrong are not as easy to define as we think. The Khmer Rouge killed more than 2 million people and in the end only those who were Khmer Rouge or bowed to their wishes survived.
When American “Carter” played by Mather Zickel (who is visiting Cambodia with his wife) questions Dr. Heng’s morals, the doctor tells him, “when someone puts a gun to your head it will not make you murder, but when it is done to your family even you could be a murderer.” Eventually Dr. Heng places “Carter” and his wife “Mara,” played by Marin Hinkle, in a situation that challenges their morals and ethics and the idea of “does the end justify the means” forcing them to experience just a very small taste of what it might have been like to live under the Khmer Rouge rule. The whole play (written by David Wiener) challenges not just our sense of what is right and wrong, but the difficulty of decisions when emotions are in play especially as they relate to those who are most dear to us. So while this play on the surface focuses on the world of and after the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge rule, it is only the underlying theme.
While Chau’s powerful performance dominates the stage and the message of the play, this ensemble cast is so strong that it is emotionally exhausting to watch them perform which is so satisfying for an audience hoping a stage production will be able to touch them deeply. Zickel and Hinkle are perfectly matched as the loving American couple trying to figure out their own definition of what is right and wrong when they are forced to heal old wounds of their own. “Rom Chang” played by Kimiko Gelman and “Sopoan” play by Greg Watanabe at first appear to be the strong supporting roles in this play, but these two actors ultimately steal the show when at the end their characters step up to say, “this is about us, the survivors who were victims of this period of history.” In the final scene their two performances are both strong and vulnerable; their chemistry tangible; and it is utterly amazing to experience this on-stage moment between them when they are enveloped in a set design projection by Hana Sooyean Kim that is so masterful and moving it is hard to describe. BTW, we loved it.
Extraordinary Chambers is playing at the Geffen Playhouse through July 3rd and you’d be crazy to miss it. For tickets and more information visit their website, www.geffenplayhouse.com
PS: If anyone tells you I broke down, they can’t prove it and I would never admit such a thing.
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