←Recommendations of Family Dinner

A funny and intelligent play that explores the complex ways family dynamics intersect with economics and money, caretaking, mental health, self-imposed and internal expectations, and much more. I loved the "natural yet heightened" feel of this which lends a compelling theatricality to the piece. I love, in particular, how the catch-22 Jane is caught in can apply to any number of people whose economic status and/or cultural context are roadblocks to the idealized/over-romanticized world of academia.

There are lines in this play that took me off guard, and I landed somewhere in between stunned silence and delighted laughter. Whatever that feeling is called, that's what this play is. Also it's vicious, thoughtful, and yet warm in its own way. The characters in this play are mesmerizing in the ways each one of them is wrapped up in themselves, and Cho's deft writing guides their collision into a deliciously destructive spectacle.

I can't think of a family dinner play quite like this one. It's hilarious and upsetting usually in the same moment. The writer does a great job at not praising or demonizing any character. These conversations about the responsibilities to family for adult children and the prestige of education are important so I'm glad there's a play like this that makes audiences confront them in such a jarring and hysterical way.

This play is FUNNY. Laugh out loud funny. It is weird and intelligent and dark and wildly unique.