Durango Reviews
/ by Guest UserThis is the first play that I have seen that gives an exclusive voice to members of this community. Hearing the similarities, as much as the differences, in our life experiences brings us closer to each other.
Read MoreSimple in concept, this one-act play’s power lies in the suspenseful, eloquent unfolding of the Lee family’s secrets. Playwright Julia Cho approaches these revelations as if she’s peeling away layers of an onion, and “Durango” becomes more poignant as it gets deeper to the core.
Read MoreLike most of Cho’s work, Durango is quietly devastating, and Carlos Murillo’s staging is fittingly both stark and tender. Marianna Csaszar’s austere, boxlike set is painted with a desert landscape, suggesting at once confinement and wide-open spaces. The cast’s understated but detailed performances let the play’s series of small, tense moments build to an emotionally shattering climax.
Read MoreLike the Hypocrites’ current buzz-heavy Our Town, this production uses skeletal but precise staging and only a few flourishing design surprises to reap huge emotional rewards, even in the face of Cho and Murillo’s final discordant moments. If only every theater in town had the nerve to try an ending like this once in a while.
Read MoreThe parallels to Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman are striking, but Durango is set in 21st-century America, where Korean immigrant Boo-Seng Lee is the father of Isaac, 21, and Jimmy, 15.
Read MoreCho is a compassionate and interesting young writer able to see the world from more than one side. "Durango" manages to deftly evoke a family where no male really has the words to reach another male. And one does not have to be of Korean heritage to recognize that condition.
Read MoreCho's play (with echoes of both "Death of a Salesman" and "Leaving Iowa") ... has the ring of truth. Anthony-Foronda gives a sensitive performance... Wang and Kaiko are easily likable and suggest a most believable brotherly bond.
Read MoreThere is a suspense element and a realistic and plausible resolution that is satisfying without resorting to hooky sharing of their secrets and each forgiving the other scenario seen in countless TV scripts.
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