The title of playwright Lloyd Suh’s “The Heart Sellers” is very much an intentional play on words.
His story of two women newly immigrated to the United States who find friendship in their isolation and disorientation is set on Thanksgiving Day in 1973, just eight years after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Hart-Celler Act. That landmark legislation in essence decreed that national origin could no longer be a barrier to immigration.
Suh’s own family history informed “The Heart Sellers,” which made its world premiere two years ago at Milwaukee Rep. The premise also connected with Kat Yen, who is directing a production of the play at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. Her parents, she said, were both immigrants to the U.S. who spoke no English when they arrived.
“I was struck with this play how incredible a feat it was that they came here, had me and did all the things they did,” said San Diego-based Yen, a Taiwanese-American theater artist who is also the first Directing Fellow at La Jolla Playhouse. “There are so many people who are here because of the Hart-Celler Act. When I work on this and see these two women, I think about the fact that my mother could’ve been one of them.”
“The Heart Sellers” finds Jane from Korea (played by Jin Park) and Luna from the Philippines (Marielle Young) together in Luna’s apartment kitchen as they navigate together the challenge of preparing a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Both are married to husbands who came to America to serve medical residencies, and prior to this day the two women had only seen other shopping in town. As the play unfolds, Jane and Luna begin to communicate and bond, with a little help from some laughter and glasses of wine.
“We’re watching two people who are really isolated in this town,” said Yen. “They finally get a chance to be together and we’re all cheering for them. It’s so heartwarming to watch them fall in love as friends.”
While Jane and Luna concern themselves with their first Thanksgiving in the United States, they begin to see beyond just the holiday.
“These are two people who don’t even speak the same type of English and are just learning to communicate with each other to the end where they’re actually making plans for the future together,” Yen said. “This is their new and only best friend in this whole big country.”
“The Heart Sellers” takes place in an unspecified, mid-size American city.
“It feels like a very deliberate choice (by the playwright),” said Yen, emphasizing the universality, to say nothing of the contemporary relevance, of the play.
Yen hopes that “In this political climate, it will be a bit of a reminder to look at the amazing diversity around us that we want to continue to nurture.”
‘The Heart Sellers’
When: Previews, Wednesday through Jan. 10. Opens Jan. 11 and runs through Feb. 2. 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays
Where: North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach
Tickets: $52-$74
Phone: 858-481-1055
Online: northcoastrep.org
