Foreground: Joe Ngo, Kelsey Angel Baehrens, and Tim Liu (Photo by Teolindo)
Reviewed by Dana Martin
East West Players
Through March 9th
RECOMMENDED
Lauren Yee’s Los Angeles premiere of Cambodian Rock Band rocks East West Players this winter. Yee’s timely work is infectious, vibrant and exciting while grappling with the dark truth of the cruel and murderous Communist regime, Khmer Rouge.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2008. Chum (Joe Ngo), a middle-aged Cambodian Dad in midlife crisis shows up unannounced at his daughter Neary’s (Kelsey Angel Baehrens) hotel room in Cambodia. Chum is returning to Cambodia for the first time in 30 years after being one of the only survivors of the brutal prison camp, S21, during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot in the latter half of the 1970’s. In his youth, Chum was a member of a rock band in Cambodia, which led to his imprisonment and torture as the Rouge intends to stamp out artists and intellectuals. At present he’s upbeat, emotionally charged, avoidant. Neary, a Cambodian-American NGO worker, is preparing to prosecute a Khmer Rouge war criminal, Duch (Daisuke Tsuji), the first of its leaders to be tried for crimes against humanity.
Under Chay Yew’s expert direction, Cambodian Rock Band is raw, poignant, and exciting. Yew’s work is both sensitive and unyielding; it never flinches from the story’s intensity. Co-musical directors Jane Lui and Matthew MacNelly rein in the sound to uncover the right dynamic of expression throughout. Sound design by Megumi Katayama and Mikhail Fiksel is exciting and unnerving. Costume design by Linda Cho (with additional design by Ashphord Jacoway) perfectly encapsulates the contrast between the 70’s rock band fashion and the casual plainness of Communist Party culture in the early aughts. Yoko Haitz’ hair and make-up design is subtly fabulous and firmly places each character in their respective decade. Jason H. Thompson’s projection design fills the stage with striking images, giving the story a stylistic, cinematic quality which periodically morphs into a rock concert with vivid color that complements Derek Jones’s poignant, punk rock lighting design. Takeshi Kata’s original set and Mina Kinukawa’s production design shape several distinct environments — from the dank bowels of a prison to the grand spectacle of a rock concert.
Chum is played with unwavering intensity by Joe Ngo whose role shifts back and forth from an aging middle-aged Dad to an innocent young man. Ngo’s powerhouse performance is truly a sight to behold; he never lets his foot off the accelerator. Daisuke Tsuji’s Duch is an antagonist of the highest caliber. He is stoic and calm, until he’s consumed by the ghosts of his murderous past. He’s upbeat, positive, and positively diabolical. Kelsey Angel Baehrens handles Neary with energetic sensitivity and doubles as the band’s lead vocals. Tim Liu’s performance as Leng, Chum’s wayward friend and bandmate, is conflicted and heartbreaking. Jane Lui plays keyboard and Abraham Kim is on drums; both provide strong ensemble support throughout.
The play centers around Chum and Neary’s relationship. As a dad, Chum is over-protective and proud; he wants to protect his most valuable treasure, his daughter. Neary is independent, intelligent and does not want to disappoint her father. As Neary refines her case and tracks down survivors, Chum reckons with demons from his past that he can no longer avoid. The gut punch reality of the regime’s cruelty is saved for play’s the second act. Pol Pot’s Communist reign of terror lasted throughout the latter half of the 1970’s and decimated about a quarter of the country’s population. Yee uses the rock music to channel rage, sadness and loss while also serving as a celebratory cathartic release.
Cambodian Rock Band was conceived in Southern California and features the music of Dengue Fever, an LA-based Cambodian rock band that inspired the play after Yee attended one of their Long Beach concerts. Los Angeles County is home to the largest ethnically Cambodian population outside of Cambodia, and this East West Player’s production feels like a homecoming for this powerful work. Music is the soul of Cambodia, and precisely what the Khmer Rouge wanted to stamp out. Yee uses the music as a tool of defiance, of mourning and of healing. What could be more timely, more punk rock, or more LA?
David Henry Hwang in the Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Little Tokyo; Thurs.-Fri. & Mon., 8 pm, Sat., 2 & 8 pm, Sun., 5 pm, thru March 9th. https://www.eastwestplayers.org/pacific24
