Review: THE HEART SELLERS is a Laugh-Aloud Love Letter to Friendship at MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER

The best kind of comedy just made its world premiere at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Lloyd Suh -- who authored The Chinese Lady, which the Rep produced in 2019 -- has another triumph on his hands with The Heart Sellers. Under the direction of Jennifer Chang, The Heart Sellers is a story of immigrants and friendship, funny and heartwarming.

The two-women play opens with Luna, a young Filipina, excitedly inviting Jane, a young Korean, into her apartment on Thanksgiving Day, 1970. The apartment reflects the year with shag carpet, groovy patterns, and mustard-colored everything. Luna and Jane met at the supermarket, drawn together by their similarities: both new to the U.S. from Asia, with husbands working demanding hours as medical residents, and an innate knowledge that their stories must have a lot in common.

The laughter starts straight away. Luna (Nicole Javier) barrels into the scene, goofy and garrulous, talking a mile a minute and barely stopping to catch a breath. She's so excited to welcome someone new into her home. By contrast, Jane (Narea Kang) lurks nervously in the doorway bundled in a puffer coat, a plaid scarf wrapped up to her eyeballs. The contrast between the two is quickly established.

But Jane soon steps inside and warms up to Luna, softening over the cooking of a Thanksgiving turkey and yams. Together they drink bad wine, page through photo albums, grow progressively tipsy, loosen up, bare their souls, and get both silly and serious.

Suh has written a plot and characters with smart balance. There are moments that move the audience to the edge of tears, but humor swiftly swoops in and laughter wins. That's what makes this the best kind of comedy. The Heart Sellers sits at the intersection of hilarious, heartwarming, and a little heartbreaking -- a funny play with loads of depth.

That depth really comes through in these well-rounded characters. In this 1hr and 35-minute no-intermission play, Luna and Jane discuss everything from American novelties like K-Mart and Jane Fonda to how life in the U.S. compares to their expectations. They reflect on being away from family, the difficulty of making friends, and their innermost dreams. It's wonderful to see these fully-realized women, full of laughter, wishes, questions, regrets, and wonder -- all told through Suh's conversational storytelling.

That storytelling is brought to life by the genuine performances of two brilliant actors: Nicole Javier and Narea Kang as Luna and Jane, respectively. Each is making their Milwaukee Rep debut with The Heart Sellers.

From their quirks to impressive broken-English accent work (shoutout to voice & dialect coach Joy Lanceta Coronel), Javier and Kang fully embody these women. Javier's chatty, high-energy Luna balances Kang's restrained Jane until the two eventually meet in the middle. Javier and Kang share a natural, jovial rapport and easy hysterical laughter. Even in moments of silence, these two communicate such depth and dimension. It's not just their expressions, but their delivery of these characters' simple acts of friendly intimacy, like sharing "home clothes" and stretching one blanket across the two of them.

This pure, honest depiction of female closeness is what resonates above all else. The Heart Sellers is a commentary on immigration, yes, but most of all it celebrates the joy and fulfillment that comes with good friends. So grab your dear ones for a theatrical experience that's a love letter to friendship. Like those friends, The Heart Sellers is something to treasure.

Information and tickets at Milwaukeerep.com.

Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow

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