Jenine Florence Jacinto as Luna, left, and Michelle Pokopac as Jane, proper, in “The Coronary heart Sellers” at Horizon Theatre. (All images by Mark Ramirez Perez)
It hasn’t taken lengthy for Lloyd Suh’s drama The Coronary heart Sellers to develop into one of many nation’s most produced performs — greater than two dozen stagings have been scheduled throughout the nation since a profitable bow at Milwaukee Rep in 2023. It’s straightforward to see why Horizon Theatre was drawn to the venture as properly; Suh’s work is an thrilling new theatrical voice, and the venture has two wealthy roles at its core.
Working by November 9 because the opener for Horizon’s 41st season, The Coronary heart Sellers is a talky however compact character examine of two immigrant ladies spending a night attending to know one another.
It’s Thanksgiving Day of 1973 in an unnamed mid-sized U.S. metropolis. Jane (Michelle Pokopac), from Korea, and Luna (Jenine Florence Jacinto), from the Philippines, meet by likelihood at a grocery retailer, begin speaking and resolve to return to Luna’s condominium to spend the vacation collectively. Each are married to medical residents who need to spend the day at work. The 2 ladies have one thing of a meal collectively, cooking some yams and unsuccessfully making an attempt to thaw out and bake a frozen turkey. Wine additionally comes out.
At first, a nervous Luna talks virtually nonstop as she welcomes a shy and tentative Jane into her residence. But, because the night time progresses, every begins to really feel extra snug, and, over time, it turns into clear that the 2 have lots in frequent. Each Jane and Luna are of their early 20s, lonely and friendless and feeling misplaced in Seventies America. They talk about their households again residence, some shared goals, the issue of assembly others and the significance of independence as they be taught the ropes of a brand new residence.
The Coronary heart Sellers refers back to the 1965 Hart-Celler Act, often known as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which overhauled the immigration system in america and did away with nationwide origins quotas. Suh himself is the son of immigrants and used his mom and the issue she confronted in a brand new nation as inspiration.
Suh could also be acquainted to some Atlanta audiences already — his play The Chinese language Woman was staged on the Alliance Theatre final yr. The playwright has an actual ear for dialogue and a naturalistic model right here.
This manufacturing is directed by Michelle Chan, a resident artist at Breaking & Coming into Theatre Collective, in addition to a educating assistant to playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. Chan units the time interval fastidiously, working with costume designer Lauren Driskill on Jane and Luna’s clothes and using information clips from the time, together with one about Richard Nixon not releasing his tax returns and one other remembering the 10-year-anniversary of JFK’s assassination. Luna’s small, calmly furnished residence with images on the wall simply above the mattress is believably dropped at life by resident set designers Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay.
The Coronary heart Sellers runs near an hour-and-a-half with no intermission. It’s a play that’s deceptively deeper than it sounds and covers plenty of floor, at instances slyly humorous. One of many extra observant moments happens as Luna shares wine together with her new good friend and mentions one thing she has appeared to listen to aplenty from males round her — a superb spouse is just not supposed to drink wine.
But extra severe moments emerge, particularly as Jane and Luna talk about their previous and coming to phrases with their new lives. These sequences, particularly, hit residence and really feel topical, as immigrants face an unsure future as we speak beneath our new administration.
It have to be mentioned, although, that The Coronary heart Sellers at instances can really feel a bit inert and too-leisurely put collectively. There’s solely a lot Chan as a director can do with a play that’s somewhat top-heavy with lengthy conversations and monologues.
The appearing makes it work, nonetheless. This can be a two-hander with numerous heavy lifting required by its leads, and each are as much as the duty. Pokopac, who has appeared in Horizon productions corresponding to The Recreation and The Wolves, might be extra acquainted to Atlanta audiences than Jacinto, however each Jane and Luna really feel actual and detailed, open to sharing extra of themselves to somebody they’re simply attending to know.
The Coronary heart Sellers is a small-scale, character-driven work with out plenty of flash. A play containing hope and data of the facility that friendship can convey to our lives, it actually makes us stay up for what Suh writes subsequent.
The place & When
The Coronary heart Sellers is at Horizon Theatre by Nov. 9. Tickets begin at $40.
1083 Austin Ave.
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Jim Farmer is the recipient of the 2022 Nationwide Arts and Leisure Journalism Award for Finest Theatre Characteristic and a nominee for On-line Journalist of the Yr. A member of 5 nationwide critics’ organizations, he covers theater and movie for ArtsATL. A graduate of the College of Georgia, he has written in regards to the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the pageant director of Out on Movie, Atlanta’s LGBTQ movie pageant, and lives in Avondale Estates together with his husband, Craig.