Cambodian Rock Band

B+

Lauren Yee’s (The Great Leap) residency at Signature Theatre is off to an auspicious start with the New York premiere of this ambitious play with music. The play moves back and forth between 2008 and the 1970s. Neary (Courtney Reed; Aladdin), the American-born daughter of Cambodian refugees, has been in Phnom Penh working alongside her Canadian boyfriend Ted (Moses Villarama; Fast Company) for the tribunal trying to bring long overdue justice to Duch (Francis Jue; Soft Power, Wild Goose Dreams), head of the notorious S21 Prison where thousands were tortured and killed, who had been arrested after 30 years of hiding in plain sight. Neary’s father Chum (Joe Ngo), who had previously shown little interest in her work, suddenly shows up at her hotel unannounced. Before long we learn the reason for his visit and the connection between him and Duch. Back in 1975, Chum and his friends Sothea (Reed) and Leng (Villarama) were members of a rock band, Cyclo, who were recording their first album. Chum put his entire family at risk by postponing their flight from Cambodia a week to finish the album. All the members of the talented cast double as the musicians. The play is interspersed with Cambodian rock numbers from the seventies as well as contemporary numbers by Dengue Fever. It was frustrating that the lyrics were not translated. A Dylan song also plays an important role in the story. The first act, which describes the father-daughter meeting in 2008 and the events of 1975, contains the bulk of the music. The grimmer second act is mostly set in an S21 Prison cell in 1975. During intermission the playwright greeted a large contingent from a Bronx organization for Cambodian refugees and begged the audience to be understanding if the play triggered unexpected behavior from them. The brutality we witness is brief but chilling. The return to the father-daughter story in 2008 seems a bit anticlimactic. While the drama and the music do not always cohere as well as one might like, the concept of combining them mostly works. The production is greatly enhanced by an excellent cast which also includes Abraham Kim and Jane Lui. The inimitable Francis Jue is alway a treat to watch. Takeshi Kata's (Gloria, Office Hour) set efficiently captures both the bustle of Phnom Penh and the bleakness of a prison cell. Linda Cho’s (Grand Horizons) costumes and wigs for Cyclo band members vividly recall the 70s. Chay Yew’s (Mojada, My Mañana Comes) direction is assured. While there are a few rough spots, I admired the overall effort. Running time: two hours 45 minutes including intermission. NOTE; There is a very helpful timeline hidden deep within the Playbill after the cast biographies. I suggest reading it before the play.

The Great Leap

C+

This interesting new play at Atlantic Theater Company’s Stage 2  is just good enough that one wishes it were better. Playwright Lauren Yee (Cambodian Rock Band) displays a knack for sketching vivid characters and situations with dramatic potential. The action is mainly set in San Francisco and Beijing in the early summer of 1989. Saul (Ned Eisenberg; Awake and Sing!) is the coach of a failing collegiate basketball team who has been invited to bring his team to China to play an exhibition game with a Chinese team. Saul had been there 18 years before to help the Chinese improve their basketball skills. During that stay he befriended his translator Wen Chang (BD Wong; M. Butterfly, Pacific Overtures) and taught him enough about basketball to become a coach. Wen never forgot Saul’s remark that no Chinese team could ever defeat an American team and is out to prove him wrong. Manford (Tony Aidan Vo; Sea Wife) is a motor-mouthed 17-year-old high school senior who, despite being vertically challenged, is a basketball whiz determined to join Saul’s team and make the trip to Beijing. Connie (Ali Ahn; The Heidi Chronicles) is his cousin who really doesn’t have much to do except fill in some of the exposition. With no disrespect to the actor, I think the play would be stronger without her character. The game just happens to take place in the midst of the Tianenman Square uprising. Some of the other coincidences came across as a little too pat for me. I suspect you will guess some of the secrets before they are revealed. The three male characters all get a chance to shine. Eisenberg makes the most of the over-the-hill Bronx exile who cannot get a sentence out without a handful of four-letter words. Vo captures Manford’s relentless drive cloaked in amiability.  Wong has the least showy but most nuanced role as a man who has tried all his life never to stand out. The scenic design by Takeshi Kata (The Profane, Man from Nebraska), which consists mainly of a section of a basketball court, is augmented by projections by David Bengali (Van Gogh's Ear). Tilly Grimes’s (Underground Railroad Game) costumes are apt. The direction by Taibi Magar (Is God Is) is unfussy. There are some fine moments, but they are too few. Running time: one hour 55 minutes including intermission.