DNA Trail Reviews
Put seven of the most celebrated Asian American playwrights into a room and give each of them the topic of DNA heritage as the basis for a ten-minute play. Oh, and make them all take DNA tests and have them grapple with the results. It sounds like it might be a reality TV show, but in fact, theatre impresario Jamil Khoury did just that.
Read MoreThe actors were skilled and seemed in touch with their numerous characters, while the plays themselves utilize humor and drama to explore the many facets of DNA and genetics through topics such as family relationships, ethnicity, religion, adoption, mental disease and self.
Read More[Playwright Jamil Khoury says,] "Seeing that such a distinguished group of playwrights agreed to take this journey with me (responding affirmatively to my invitation typically within the number of seconds it took to explain the concept) is testimony both to the power of ancestry and our innate desire to discover something new and unexpected about ourselves.”
Read MoreOh, oh, I thought. I'd seen data showing that the genealogical tests are not very accurate... When the performances began, though, my concerns about determinism vanished. The playwrights had caught the nuances, complexities, heart-wrenching conflicts, and occasional zaniness of DNA testing.
Read More[In the] provocative seven-play pastiche that is The DNA Trail, Khoury's WASP is a highlight as it spotlights the danger of assumptions. And the gobsmacking depths of stupidity light skinned fellows named Jamil encounter on a regular basis.
Read MoreThis panoply of seven plays by seven playwrights seems perfect for Silk Road. Its mission to showcase playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean descent, and the short form allows the playwrights behind "The DNA Trail" to range wide 'globally' to trace out who they and their families are.
Read MorePlayful and philosophical, personal and educational, the short works, warmly staged by Steve Scott, richly explore the mystery of ancestry, specifically how much we owe to the gene pool we swam in and how free we are to forge a future different from the cumulative contributions of centuries of chromosomes.
Read MoreThe combustive combination of identity politics and science leads several playwrights toward pedagogy, though it’s largely tongue-in-cheek... It proves that the solitary act of self-examination can, indeed, be made to entertain.
Read More[On] the whole it's a smart and challenging production, directed with clarity by Steve Scott, that focuses far less than one might expect on identity politics. At its best, it's a poignant meditation on how difficult it is to recognize the impact of our immediate families, much less whatever came down to us through the double helix of history.
Read MoreFunny, poignant, absurd, and thought-provoking; The DNA Trail highlights the work of gifted playwrights and represents a shining example of Silk Road Theatre Project’s dedication to presenting diverse perspectives through the creation of extraordinary theater. Don’t miss this wonderfully entertaining ride through genetic coding, self-examination and human interaction.
Read MoreEven the theater space evokes the feelings of twoness that come from inheriting mixed ancestry and culture; located in the basement of The First United Methodist Church at The Chicago Temple Building, the audience sits in the bowels of a mixed-use building whose original purpose was to observe faith. There is more than one story to the building, and more than one story to each piece of The DNA Trail.
Read MoreThe production, smartly directed by Steve Scott and performed by seven deftly morphing actors, also is a handsome, quirky, frequently moving, thought-provoking exploration that considers its subject in myriad ways while taking some wildly unexpected detours.
Read MoreJamil Khoury’s idea for a series of short plays centering on the genealogical DNA test has produced an intriguing evening of theatre. The seven plays contain humor, fantasy, personal revelation and poignancy.
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