Supportive White Parents
Reviewed by Julia Stier
The Second City Hollywood
Through April 24 [NOTE: Closed early due to COVID-19]
RECOMMENDED
In Supportive White Parents, Joy (Joy Regullano), a freshman at UC Berkley, decides to change her major from molecular biology to theatre and Southeast Asian studies. When she breaks the news to her Filipino immigrant parents, it doesn’t go well. Heartbroken at their disappointment, Joy wishes upon a shooting star for new parents — a pair of supportive white parents. And it comes true.
An hour-long semi-autobiographical musical romp, Supportive White Parents is directed by Frank Caeti, with book and lyrics by Regullano and music by The Sam & Tony Show. Originally mounted at the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival, where it won The Encore! Producer’s Award and Best of the Broadwater it’s now at The Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre, reveling in its own delightful absurdity.
As herself, Regullano openly shares her struggles as a first-generation American kid trying to live up to her parents’ expectations. The show’s catchy tunes keep the audience in stitches, even though her character’s pain, thinly veiled with a comedic veneer, is still very much present.
As the titular “supportive white parents,” Mary Lou and Scott Palmerson have fun leaning into the piece’s interpretation of white parenting — loving, but far too lax. Greg Smith, as Joy’s foul-mouthed and disrespectful white brother Garrett, exemplifies to an extreme what that kind of parenting can lead to. Giselle Tongi and Earl Baylon as her real parents are as warm and wonderful as they are demanding.
Songs such as “Freshman Fall,” “We Hug in This Family,” and the Bollywood-inspired “Wholefoods” (about the store’s “exotic” selections) are full of smart, witty lyrics. The cast, with their strong, clear voices, prove you don’t need flashy costumes or lavish sets to create a showstopper.
While there are moments of true heartache — Regullano confesses to the audience that in real life, after she told her father she wasn’t going to be a doctor, he didn’t speak to her for months — there are also many moments of redemption. Watching Joy, both the character and the writer, find acceptance in herself and with her parents is a beautiful reminder that familial love is expressed in many different ways.
The Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre, 6560 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Fri., 7 p.m.; through Apr. 24 [NOTE: Closed early due to COVID-19]. https://www.secondcity.com/shows/hollywood/. Running time: one hour with no intermission.
