Surviving the Nian at the Boston Center for the Arts
SURVIVING THE NIAN
A World Premiere musical
Music and Lyrics by Melissa Li
Book by Melissa Li and Abe Rybeck
Directed by Patrick Wang
Musical Director Juri Panda Jones
Featuring Megumi Haggerty, Abria Smith, Mariko Kanto, Hyunsoo Moon, Gary Ng, Judy Tan
“Winner of the 2007 Jonathan Larson Award for Musical Theater”
I had a chance to check out Surviving the Nian last week - the musical being produced by The Theater Offensive that Boston Progress friend Melissa Li has been working on since she was a teenager with Abe Rybeck. I honestly did not know what to expect: Melissa is an incredibly talented songwriter and musician, but I was only familiar with her music as sung by her from behind her own guitar. To me, musical theater is about as far from catchy folk-rock as you can get.
The audience is brought up to speed immediately, because it’s clear we’ll need the full length of the play for this family to work through its issues. Here’s the nice-and-tidy version: Kaylin Wu (Megumi Haggerty) is bringing her roommate/business partner/lesbian lover Asha - who also happens to be Black - to Hong Kong from Boston to meet the Wu family during the Lunar New Year celebration. Stubborn Mother Wu (Judy Tan), cheerful Uncle Tony (Gary Ng), and Kaylin’s boring and bitter brother Vincent (Hyunsoo Moon) have no idea of the true nature of Kaylin and Asha’s relationship. On top of that, they expect Kaylin to move back to Hong Kong to put her American degree to work helping the family business.
My favorite aspect of the play was that the audience is never put in a position to make judgments about any character. They could have gone the easy route and portrayed Mother Wu as a one-dimensional overbearing mother, but she was clearly a woman determined to fight back against a life that had continually tried to beat her down. Vincent’s girlfriend Jessie (Mariko Kanto) looks like she might be a shallow opportunist early on, but in the beautifully-written “No You Know Me,” - my personal favorite of the evening - her tender side shines through.
Speaking of personal favorites, I have to mention that Judy Tan was a stunningly good standout in an excellent cast. (I’m not just saying that because Judy shouted out Boston Progress in her bio.) While some singing voices were stronger than others, there was nothing lacking as far as acting chops. The orchestra was also great, providing the right mood even when not helped along by vocals, such as on “Kao Tao,” a touching scene when quibbling is put aside out of respect for tradition - if only for a few minutes, an idea that is sure to be familiar for many Asian families.
It is easy to imagine someone from outside the API community having a hard time grasping the significance of Surviving the Nian, but the concept is simple: when was the last time you heard of an Asian American musical being produced anywhere? When do you think was the last time Boston played host to one? And this is no Miss Saigon – it makes a point not to serve as “tour guide” for white mainstream audiences; there is no concession to those who consider “universal” the greatest compliment one can pay to art created by the disenfranchised. The fact that Melissa Li went through Boston Public Schools and has close connections to Chinatown makes an even more compelling argument to support this work. She is one of us, as are her characters, and we just don’t see ourselves or each other on stage often enough.
Direction was solid, and the minimalist set in Act I worked great. It was a bit of a shock when Act II brought us an elaborately created family businesses sitting right at center stage, but after a few minutes, the surprise wore off, and the strength of the story and music shined through.
Surviving the Nian is appropriate for almost all ages, with mild allusions made to very tame hanky panky - definitely much less shocking than you’d see in most television sitcoms.
Make sure to catch it before its run ends May 5!
Tickets on sale now at www.bostontheatrescene.com
Regular prices $32 and $40
Preview performances April 14-17: All seats just $20!
Pay What You Can Night Thurs. April 19: $10 minimum
Student rush one hour prior to curtain: $10
Groups of 10 or more: $5 off (call 617.621.6090 for details)
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Check out the review they got in the Boston Globe today:
“Young cast skillfully captures clash of cultures”
[...] On the 6th of July, I was fortunate enough to sit down with the young and talented Melissa Li, a singer-songwriter from Boston. Her musical, “Surviving the Nian”, recently was produced by The Theater Offensive here in Boston. I got to see it when it was playing in April and I thought it was wonderful. So did Giles. [...]