Theatre News Wire

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, continues its 2024-2025 season with The Heart Sellers, Lloyd Suh's award-winning play about the Asian immigrant experience in the 1970s, directed by Helen Young. The production, which recently won the 2024 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for most outstanding script premiered outside New York City in 2023, runs January 23 - February 23, 2025, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

The Heart Sellers at Northlight Theatre

Set during Thanksgiving 1973, the play follows recent Asian immigrants Jane and Luna, whose workaholic husbands leave them to fend for themselves. Over wine and a questionable frozen turkey, they reminisce about home and dream of their American adventures, from disco dancing to learning to drive and visiting Disneyland.

The play's title cleverly references the Hart-Celler Act (The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965), sponsored by Sen. Philip A. Hart and Rep. Emanuel Celler, which opened immigration opportunities beyond western European countries. Suh, whose parents emigrated from Korea, drew inspiration from his parents' experiences and those of his friends' parents from that generation.

"It occurred to me that the Hart-Celler Act was a kind of bookend piece of legislation and that if I was really going to examine the early days of my mother ... that it was really very similarly about the after effects of that legislation," said Suh. "It was kind of an involuntary impulse that led me down to write about history. ... It's an intense feeling to just feel like, 'oh wow, I can trace this history along such a long continuum.'"

Artistic Director BJ Jones comments, "Lloyd Suh's play offers the tale of two women from different countries and cultures, learning about each other, their new home, and the odd custom of cooking a turkey to celebrate America's uncomfortable beginnings. The metaphor is not lost on us, and we root for these women and their own journeys. It's a deceptively funny and yet profound tale. These brave pioneers struggle to learn about each other and their new life. It's a glimpse of our own ancestors' journeys, and conversely, reflects the very moment that occupies the national conversation today. It offers the opportunity for us to have compassion for those who seek a better life and, one would argue, contribute to the strength and quality of ours."

Suh, known for his historical plays including "The Chinese Lady" and "The Far Country" (a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for drama finalist), brings this touching comedy to life through performances by Aja Alcazar (Luna) and Seoyoung Park (Jane).

The creative team includes John Culbert (Set Design), Jessica Kuehnau Wardell (Costume Design), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (Co-Lighting Design), Josiah Croegaert (Co-Lighting Designer), Forrest Gregor (Sound Design) and Nicolas Bartleson (Properties Designer). Jooyoung Cho is the dramaturg and Katie Klemme is the production stage manager.