Elaine Kao & Jully Lee
First, kudos to Company of Angels for being the first to step up and premiere Vasanti Saxena’s Sun Sisters because it is a wonderful play that takes you to totally unexpected places that Lui Sanchez has done a great job of guiding us to. We spoke with producer Joyce Liu who told us she has been working on the project for more than a year and a feature film is also in the works!
Sun Sisters starts off in a very nondiscript way and seems at first to be another story about a mother and daughter overcoming their differences and finding each other. What develops is not only a unique twist, but refreshing in the way mother and daughter find the common ground that binds them together. Of course we can’t spoil the story (you have to go experience it for yourself), but this is one play that keeps building and building and pulling you further into the plot as it slowly unfolds. It is so beautifully focused on the characters, not the subject matter of the daughter being a lesbian which could have turned this into a political statement instead of just a very original story about human emotions, and the nature of relationships.
Momo Yashima is amazing in the lead role of “Angie–the mother” and it was really special to see how beautifully Elaine Kao as “Angie–college student” captures the personality and energy of Momo’s “older Angie” and makes you feel these two are the same person in different times. Andrea Lwin plays Momo’s daughter and she is a stable, guiding force through this journey of discovery almost like a storyteller who is passing the book around to everyone else to contribute. And while Jennifer Chang and Jully Lee have supporting roles in the play, both give performances that are definite standouts that won’t be forgotten.
Peter Kwong provides narration throughout the play that seems misplaced and leaves you wondering “what the hell is his purpose” until the end when he brings everything together in a very, very unexpected ending! And BTW, we know why “token white guy” Robert Hardin landed the role of Carlton…because he’s a great actor who meshed with Asian theater perfectfully!
Sun Sisters runs through August 28, 2011. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit their website: Company of Angels
Trackbacks/Pingbacks