The Intriguing Tale Of A Womans Search For Her Korean Birth Family

In Sun Mi Chomet's biographical play How to Be a Korean Woman, the actress who plays her is sent to a jinban, or bath, in South Korea. As the aunt watches them begin the ritual bath, she is surprised that the layers of dead skin are peeling away. “This is Korea. bleaching house Where the desire for smooth and perfect skin is more important than breathing. A different kind of layering—investing less in vanity and more in truth—drives Chomet's layered performance. She tells of her journey to find her biological family, whom she adopted when she was 6 months old.

Raised in Detroit by a Jewish father and a Protestant mother, Sun Mei had different names at different times in her life. Here's her American name (Rachel Sun Mi Chomet), her Korean name (Ahn Sun Mi), and the name she appears under on our shows (Sang Mi Chomet). The play's optimistic, confident title is incongruous with the show, which concludes a trilogy of plays in Theater J's "Here I Am" series. "How to define your identity as an adopted Korean-American" is more of a question. nuanced, if not complex. aerodynamic

However, Sun Mei, who performed an earlier version of the play in Minneapolis more than a decade ago, isn't really interested in giving advice; The only "guidance" comes halfway through the 80-minute play from Imus and her well-meaning aunt, or the merchants she gleefully impersonates. (Tips include: Don't touch your hair: "You should dress well, wear scarves at 80 degrees, and wear fashionable shoes, even if it hurts a lot."

Instead, Sun Mi mostly finds out the facts and follows them. The game begins in the dark place of the mother's womb. Photos of Sun Mi as a newborn with her eyes closed are displayed on the wall behind the stage, and through voiceover we learn that she was found in Anyang, given up for adoption through Holt International Children's Services, and is now works as a child support worker. Representative from Minnesota. And then. He was placed with a foster mother in Seoul and then sent to the United States, where he grew up with two half-siblings.

Probably loading too much background information into this hot, sad game. The opening scenes, with their long-winded biographical snippets, often make the show feel like an explosive episode of This American Life. (Nefeli Andoniadis' Spartan set is reminiscent of a recording studio.)

Bits of biographical information are recycled later in the scene, and to greater effect, when our star appears before us in a pink floral dress and matching lipstick. He sits nervously in a chair while appearing on the Korean reality show "I Miss This Man." - A populist dessert with the theme "Koreans search for missing relatives." When he repeats the first few lines, the context makes it clear that this is a Hail Mary to his biological mother, whom he hopes to see on the show.

A wonderful actress, Chume delights in playing some of Whitman's characters, including the host of the television show This Side, the earnest social worker, and her weak but irascible grandmother. This is your grandmother or Korean halmoni. It really wouldn't be a spoiler to say that after the DNA test is positive and the bureaucratic delays are cleared, Sun Mi will also be reunited with her mother and aunts.

However, the joy of the event was overshadowed by many surprises. For example, her mother reveals that she is currently married to a very conservative and "very mean" man who knows nothing of Sun Mi's existence; Mother and daughter are supposed to meet separately, and their conversation (Sun Mi's conversation with her) is beautifully staged by director Zarawar Mistry.

Sun Mi's Korean name has another complication that I won't reveal here. Let's say that of all his names, his name is the third and lowest person on the Korean bench, which balances the game.

How to Be a Korean Woman by Soon Mi Chomet. Director: Zarawar Mistry. ST, Nefeli Andoniadis; Lighting, Jesse W. Belsky; about 80 minutes. Through January 14 at the Edlavich Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St., DC. edcjcc.org .