Man Of God
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
Geffen Playhouse Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater
Through June 19
RECOMMENDED
“I can handle anything with Jesus’s help,” declares one of playwright Anna Ouyang Moench’s characters in her critique of the gender imbalance spawned by the patriarchy, social media, and religion. But it will take more than Jesus to save these four Korean-American high school girls when they discover a hidden camera in their hotel bathroom while on a church mission in Bangkok. Thousands of miles away from home in a city notorious for its illicit sex trade and with their esteemed pastor as the main suspect, the disparate quartet struggle over how to avoid even more sinister exploitation.
With equal parts hilarity and pathos, Moench’s characters expose long hidden secrets endemic to most women and the traumatic toll it takes to keep them under wraps. The pious Kyung-Hwa (Ji-Young Yow) stoically defends Pastor (Albert Park) and abusive male behavior as a price to pay for Christ’s salvation, much to the chagrin of her church mates. Feisty Mimi (Erin Rae Li), tomboyish Jen (Emma Galbraith), and pious Samantha (Shirley Chen) form fluid alliances with each other, with Kyung-Hwa being too much of a zealot to be part of any of these coalitions. Meanwhile, as Kyung-Hwa doubles down as Pastor’s champion, the others propose comical and chilling ways to get even with Pastor: to say more would only spoil the fun.
Director Maggie Burrows and her cast and production team expertly visualize Moench’s insightful script (originally produced at East West Players), from Lap Chi Chu’s crafty lighting to Se Oh’s realistic set – with a window revealing the bathroom – to Jonathan Snipes’ sinister sound work and original music to Thomas Isao Morinaka’s adroit fight choreography – with Chan and Yoo doubling as fight captains. The rapport of Yow, Chen, Galbraith, and Li is convincing as bickering and vulnerable teenagers on the cusp of adulthood: They stand out together as well as in their individual and group encounters with the subtle Park.
Moench also laments the burden that Tik-Tok, Instagram, Snapchat and other corporate platforms place on adolescents and teens by financially exploiting their vulnerability and need for acceptance. Moench is also sanguine in portraying how difficult but not impossible it is to combat a male-controlled culture – evangelical or otherwise – that may put women on a pedestal but chains them to it at the same time.
Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, Westwood; opens Thurs., May 26, 8 pm; perfs Fri., 8 pm; Sat., 2 & 8 pm; Sun., 3 & 7 pm; thru June 19. geffenplayhouse.org
