by Jamie Flowers
photo by Mark Garvin
True West is brought to life at the People’s Light in Malvern now through August 27, 2023 with tickets available of PeoplesLight.org. Written by American actor, playwright, author, director, and screenwriter Sam Shepard, True West was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1983. People’s Light considers the play a cornerstone of American theater. Along with director Mei Ann Teo, the show was redeveloped to reflect challenges that Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) have faced for hundreds of years.
As many of us know, Asian Americans have been part of the very foundation of the American West since the 1800s, but their stories are seldom told and People’s Light is giving them the opportunity. The entire cast and crew of True West are of AAPI descent, which is a bucket list dream of actor Sanjit De Silva. Teo reimagined version carries the original themes of duality, masculinity, and the mythos of the American West with AAPI themes of “immigrant ambition, the terror of erasure, the horror of having one’s story be disposable, to be pitted against one another for the sake of success and the dysfunction within the closest of families and the fracture of the self.” Expertly woven together, True West tells a story that expands on the realities faced by the characters to bring everyday issues that we all deal with to the forefront.
There are four actors in this play and one set, but what the cast and crew do with so little turns into so much. I am always amazed by the People’s Light for their innovative approaches to set design and technology. You-Shin Chen created a set that looks like a skateboarding ramp with wallpaper from the ceiling to the floor that brings the audience into the microuniverse of the characters. Entirely set in the 1980s in “Mom’s” kitchen (she is never given a name, just a ubiquitous character), Chen must have scoured every thrift store for a hundred miles to get props that are authentic to the time. Then she created screens that project the internal realities of the characters to give the audience an even deeper view of the complexities that they face. Max Van is the projection assistant and collaborated in the theatrical design to create something truly marvelous.
For decades this play has attracted some of Hollywood’s biggest names, such as Tommy Lee Jones, Peter Boyle, John Malkovich, Dennis Quaid, Gary Cole, Bruce Willis, Ethan Hawke and Phillip Seymour Hoffman because of the wry explorations of themes and drama packed into a two- hour production. In this production of True West, actors Sanjti De Silva (Austin), Ron Domingo (Lee), Greg Watanabe (Saul) and Ching Valdes-Aran (Mom) work together to create drama as they struggle to answer the ultimate question: who am I? De Silva uses his whole body and leaves it all on the stage as he struggles with the internal conflict of who he is and is externally taunted and consumed by his family lore. Ron Domingo plays Lee, Austin’s callus and unforgiveable brother who stumbles in and within a few minutes destroys everything that Austin has spent his life building. While Greg Watanabe is the deliriously powerful and somewhat sleezy Hollywood exec Saul, he is also charming and brings some balance between the brother’s opposite forces. Ching Valdes- Aran plays mom and is only on the stage for a few minutes, often with her back turned, but she still manages to add humor to an otherwise serious play.
True West is layered and complex as it answers so many important questions. Who are we? Do individuals matter? What is family? How do we achieve the American dream? In just two short hours that absolutely fly by, these questions play out on stage and the audience leaves introspective and examining their own lives for their own inner truths.
Tickets are available here.
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