Tag: Immigrant Stories

MRT’s ‘Kween’ Finds Light in a Dark World

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Brittani J. McBride, Ray K. Soeun and Pichanny Som in MRT’s ‘Kween’

‘Kween’ (world premiere), by Vichet Chum; Direction by Pirronne Yousefzadeh; Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Costume Design by Yao Chen; Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal; Sound Design by David Remedios; Projection Design by Camilla Tassi; Stage Managed by Brian M. Robillard; Produced by Merrimack Repertory Theater in Lowell, MA. Runs through March 15. 

By Liana Chow

Kween is a gorgeous new one-act play by Vichet Chum, written for Merrimack Repertory Theater and harmoniously directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh. Set in the present day and focusing on Cambodian American characters in Lowell, “Kween” reflects back to its audience the beauty that can be found in their community. Commissioned a few years ago during a surge of I.C.E. detentions and deportations, the play is premiering during another terrifying moment for immigrants and refugees that mirrors America’s apparent determination to repeat its long history of deportation and detention. Kween is a salve for despair because it makes a case for the everyday strength and wisdom of the younger generations, the millennial and Gen-Z children of diasporas.

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Apollinaire’s Impassioned ‘A View from the Bridge’ Reveals Troubled Waters Below

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Cast of Apollinaire’s ‘A View from the Bridge’
Photos by Darlene DeVita

‘A View from the Bridge’ — Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by David R. Gammons. Scenic and Sound by Joseph Lark-Riley; Costumes by Elizabeth Rocha; Lighting by Kevin Fulton. Presented by Apollinaire Theatre, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea, through March 22.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Arthur Miller, a prominent 20th century American playwright best known for the classics Death of a Salesman (1949) and The Crucible (1953), penned the two-act A View from the Bridge in 1956 to tackle themes of working-class masculinity; conflicts between natural and bureaucratic law; family dynamics; feminism, and the struggles faced by immigrants (especially when illegal and confronted by anti-immigrant backlash).

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