Jenna Agbayani and Judy Song will star in Lloyd Suh's new play The Heart Sellers, set to play Boston's Huntington later this year. The production, which will be directed by May Adrales, will run from November 21 to December 23 at the Calderwood Pavilion.
The Heart Sellers centers on two women in 1973, Jane and Luna, who run into each other in the grocery store on Thanksgiving and find that they have much in common: each are recent Asian immigrants, struggling with homesick feelings while adjusting to a new country, and loneliness while living with their hardworking absentee husbands. The pair find common ground in their desires and dreams, bonding over turkey and wine as they imagine how their new land could become their new home.
Said Huntington Artistic Director Loretta Greco, “Lloyd Suh’s intentionality around unpacking complicated slices of untold history in beautiful, theatrical ways for the benefit of our children and future generations is wildly inspirational. His plays are honest, heartbreaking, full of curiosity and resilience: a theatrical constellation asking us to look at our past in new ways with an eye towards a brighter future.”
The name of the play is drawn from the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, which eliminated restrictive nationality-based immigration quotas and granted thousands of professional workers a new path to citizenship. “The Heart Sellers looks at a pivotal moment in time, when the conditions were created for much of what we’re currently grappling with as a nation around our collective history,” says Suh. “It’s a play of giving thanks, making new friends, and finding home in a new place.”
Suh is an acclaimed Korean American playwright and the winner of the 2019 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts. Additional works include American Hwangap, Jesus in India, and The Chinese Lady. The Heart Sellers will be presented through special arrangement with TRW PLAYS.
Understudies for this production will include Kristian Espiritu and Carol Jeong.
The creative team for The Heart Sellers includes scenic and costume design by Junghyun Georgia Lee, lighting design by Kat C. Zhou, sound design and original music by Fabian Obispo, and hair and makeup design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt. The dramaturg is Christine Mok, and the dialect coach is Joy Lanceta Coronel. The production stage manager is Roxana Kahn and the stage manager is Ashley Pitchford.
For more information, visit HuntingtonTheatre.org.
