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Interview with Playwright Kenneth Lin

MBM: What was your impulse for writing PO BOY TANGO?

KL: When I first got out of grad school, I, like most artists, went about looking for a day job and I ended up working as a fundraiser for a cerebral palsy agency that is located in one of the most economically disadvantaged towns in New York State. In fact, things had gotten so bad in this town that the State actually had to take over the school district. Meanwhile, the schools are still in disarray today, the community is suffering and the residents pay some of the highest taxes in all of New York. This town also has an African American population that is over 75%.

At the center, I became very close with Chyvonne, one of my black colleagues, and I suddenly realized that I had never had a black friend who was an integral thread in the fabric of my happiness before. I was shocked. Here I was, a bi-lingual/cultural owner of two Ivy-League degrees and a globe-trotting Fulbright Scholar, who felt pretty self-satisfied with the diversity in his life and I had never had a close black friend before. What was that all about?

The more I thought about it, the more I started to think about the Balkanization that exists between minorities in America and what that means about our citizenship and our humanity now and what it will continue to mean moving forward. I wanted to write this play because I was very moved by how my friend Chyvonne opened my eyes to an America that is far richer, more complex and potentially greater than I had previously imagined. Po Boy Tango grew from this friendship.

MBM: Your folks had a restaurant too, right? If your family sees the play, will they recognize any of themselves in it?

KL: My family had a restaurant and it was a full family affair and my cousins and I would go to the restaurant after school. I'm not sure that my family will make it out to Chicago for this production. I'd be surprised if they don't see themselves in the play, but I'm hoping most people recognize themselves, or their stomachs at the very least, in this play.

MBM: What is the most valuable thing you inherited/learned from your parents?

KL: To get to America, my family traced a journey through Mainland China, Burma, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Argentina and New York. Now they live in a modest house in the suburbs and go on lots of vacations. If I've learned one thing from observing my parents and my grandparents, it's that the world is a very big place where little sounds have space to echo.

MBM: When you were writing PO BOY, did you have a particular image in mind? Music? Language? Smell/taste?

KL: I thought a lot about chef's hands. My grandmother was a great, great, cook and even as she aged her hands never did. Go find a good cook. Take a look at their hands. They are tameless, beautiful beasts. Don't mess with them.

MBM: What foods interest you most? Do you have a favorite recipe?

KL: I don't cook from recipes. I'm probably more interested in ingredients than I'm interested in recipes.

MBM: Do you cook for enjoyment? If so, what aspects of the process do you enjoy the most and why?

KL: When I was a child, I was a very good artist and visual arts are probably my first love. My life took me elsewhere so I'm out of practice these days. Now, I pick up a pencil and try to draw something and it just feels like so much work because I know how much I've lost to rust. I think I'm the same way with cooking. I always had good instincts for it, but I never really acquired that kind of artist's efficiency with it, like being able to clean and cook simultaneously or being able to really have fun with knife work. I like cooking, what I make tastes pretty good, but I don't feel like eating when I'm done and I think that says a lot.

MBM: What was the last recipe you shared with someone, and what was the occasion?

KL: A play's a recipe. For me, it's not so much a work of literature as much as it's a carefully wrought compilation of suggestions that I strenuously advise the artistic team to follow. But, hey, it's got to taste good, so at some point a cook's got to cook.

MBM: If you could cook any dish or kind of cuisine well, what would it be?

KL: I stopped at a roadside preserves stand in Cape Cod two summers ago and I still want to turn everything into jelly.

MBM: This will be your first extended stay in the Chicagoland area. What are you looking forward to doing most while you are here? Any restaurants you are dying to try?

KL: Well, I'm dying to do some Steelhead fishing. If anyone knows of a river that's close or wants to go, let me know. I'm fun to fish with and I corroborate all stories. I don't know what restaurants I should try. But, I've been under the thumb of a vegetarian dictator at home, so I'm thinking steak. I find deep-dish pizza to be a little bit intimidating. Is it the dough that's thick or the cheese?

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ARTISTS

CAST
Ken Narasaki (Richie Po)
Jeanne Sakata (Po Mama)
Jacqueline Williams (Gloria B)

PRODUCTION
Chay Yew (Director)
Brian Sidney Bembridge (Scenic Design)
Rachel Laritz (Costime Design)
Keith Parham (Lighting Design)
Andre Pluess (Sound Design)
Meghan Beals McCarthy (Dramaturg)
Lauren V. Hickman (Production Stage Manager)

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All photos by Michael Brosilow

Photo Gallery

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Scene 1

Scene 1	Scene 2	Combined Interview with Chay Yew and Kenneth Lin
Interview with Playwright Kenneth Lin	Interview with Director Chay Yew

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Northlight cooks up 'Po Boy' on all four burners

By MYRNA PETLICKI Contributor
January 22, 2009

It's more than a little disconcerting that no actual food is used in a play as tied to cooking as "Po Boy Tango" by Kenneth Lin at Northlight Theatre. Maybe if we were expected to imagine everything, director Chay Yew's decision wouldn't have been as jarring. But we see a kitchen island complete with burners and a packed refrigerator. We hear characters rhapsodizing about aromas but never get to share that experience with them -- which causes an immediate disconnect.

The story revolves around the decision of Taiwanese immigrant Richie Po (Ken Narasaki) to create the Great Banquet developed by his recently deceased mother Po Mama (Jeanne Sakata) as a wedding gift to his daughter. Since Richie doesn't cook, he enlists the assistance of Gloria B (Jacqueline Williams), an African-American woman who cared for the daughter as she battled cancer. They have had no contact in a decade, which makes Richie's request seem outrageous, but he offers Gloria a deal that she literally can not turn down.

The pair is aided by tapes of Po Mama's television program (she was an acclaimed restaurateur with a worldwide reputation), as well as tapes that she made just for her son.

These tapes, played as live scenes featuring Po Mama in action, offer insight into why Richie behaves as he does, as well as into the relationship between mother and son. Only late in the second act do we understand the strength of the bond between Richie and Gloria. That touching scene offers a payoff, but many other scenes are overly wordy and shrill. At a recent performance, the crowd thinned somewhat before that second act.

Sakata is slender, elegant and totally engaging as Po Mama. Excellent sound effects and Sakata's skill almost makes it appear as if she is creating and tasting the wonderful broth that eludes her son. Almost.

Williams mines both the humor and pathos of the role of Gloria B, but her voice sometimes seems needlessly harsh. Narasaki manages to reveal a lot of the little boy still hiding within the man.

The pacing of the show can be slow and the playwright's message is not completely clear. He does tell us, however, that a Taiwanese immigrant or an African-American has extra barriers in his way.

Brian Sidney Bembridge's scenic design offers a stunning abstract metallic backdrop and a counter set-up that proves versatile enough to effectively exist in four separate kitchens.