Cast & Creative Team Set for THE HEART SELLERS at Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie Theater has revealed the cast and creative team for The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh, directed by May Adrales. This universal story tenderly explores many aspects of migration as two Asian American immigrants attempt to recreate a traditional Thanksgiving meal while bonding over shared experiences. The show begins previews on Saturday, December 14, 2024, and will play through Saturday, January 25, 2025.

Artistic Director Joseph Haj said, “The underlying pulse of The Heart Sellers is the bravery required to leave home, learn unfamiliar traditions and face a loss of identity — all in the pursuit of opportunity. This funny and moving new play reminds us that we have much more in common than anything that divides us.” Haj continued, “I'm pleased to welcome the gifted May Adrales, and her phenomenal creative team to the Guthrie, and I look forward to sharing this heartwarming story with audiences this winter.” 

“Theater is a study of humanity. It's the only vehicle in which you can present an honest, nuanced portrayal of people and be in the same room with them,” said Director May Adrales. “The main conflict isn't what's going to happen. It's if [their] friendship will be enough to battle the great obstacles ahead of them and if they will survive in a world that doesn't understand them or want to understand them.”

The play's title 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 new paths to U.S. citizenship for people from Asia, Africa and other non-European nations. Suh was inspired to write The Heart Sellers based on conversations he and Adrales had about their mothers' experiences immigrating to the U.S.

The Heart Sellers had its world premiere at Milwaukee Rep in February 2023. The premiere received broad acclaim, with critics heralding the show as “a love letter to friendship” (BroadwayWorld) and “a stunning comedy … breathtaking” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

In The Heart Sellers, Luna and Jane run into each other at the supermarket on Thanksgiving Day in 1973, and they discover they have much in common — they're both new to America and spending the holiday alone while their medical-resident husbands work the night away. Longing for connection, the two homesick women return to Luna's apartment for the evening. Over a bottle of wine (or two), they attempt to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal while sharing their stories and dreams. Set eight years after the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 overhauled the U.S. immigration system, this poignant comedy illuminates the Asian immigrant experience and asks, “Would you give up your heart to make a new home?”

The cast of The Heart Sellers includes Jenna Agbayani (Guthrie: debut) as Luna and Juyeon Song (Guthrie: debut) as Jane.

The creative team includes Lloyd Suh (Playwright), May Adrales (Director), Wilson Chin (Scenic Designer), Junghyun Georgia Lee (Costume Designer), Kat C. Zhou (Lighting Designer), Fabian Obispo (Sound Designer/Composer), Christine Mok (Dramaturg), Keely Wolter (Vocal Coach), Joy Lanceta Coronel (Dialect Coach), Jennifer Liestman (Resident Casting Director), Lori Lundquist (Stage Manager), Olivia Louise Tree Plath (Assistant Stage Manager), Jake Sung-Guk Sullivan (Assistant Director) and McCorkle Casting, Ltd. (NYC Casting Consultant). 

Lloyd Suh (Playwright) is the author of The Chinese Lady, Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, Franklinland, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, American Hwangap, Jesus in India, Great Wall Story and others. He has received support from the NEA/Arena Stage New Play Development program, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Launching New Plays initiative via The Lark, New York Film Academy, NYSCA, Jerome Foundation, TCG, Dramatists Guild and The New York Community Trust (Helen Merrill Award). He is an alum of Youngblood and Soho Rep's Writer/Director Lab. From 2005 to 2010, Suh served as Artistic Director of Second Generation and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Theater Company Writers Lab. He currently serves on the Dramatists Guild Council, and since 2011, he has served as Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark. In 2024, Suh received the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for The Heart Sellers.

May Adrales (Director) is a director, teacher and artistic leader. She has directed over 30 world premieres of musicals, plays and multidisciplinary performance pieces nationally and worked with notable writers of stage and screen, including Qui Nguyen, Rajiv Joseph, David Henry Hwang, Anchuli Felicia King, Hilary Bettis and Lloyd Suh. She has served as both Artistic Director and Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark, Associate Artistic Director/Director of New Play Development at Milwaukee Rep and Artistic Associate at The Public Theater, where she spearheaded the Shakespeare Lab. Adrales has received countless fellowships and awards, including Lortel, Drama Desk and Obie Awards, and she has directed and taught at schools across the country, including NYU, Yale, Harvard and The Juilliard School. She currently serves as Director of the Theatre Program at Fordham University.

Post-Play Discussions

Patrons are invited to stay in the theater following select performances for a 20-minute conversation about the production facilitated by Guthrie staff. Cast members may join the discussion as they are able. Post-play discussions are sponsored by Fredrikson. 

Sunday, January 5 at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, January 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 18 at 1 p.m.
Sunday, January 19 at 1 p.m.

Accessible Performances

ASL-Interpreted Performances 
American Sign Language interpreters sign the performance as it plays out onstage.

Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 18 at 1 p.m.

Audio-Described Performances 
Audio describers provide live verbal descriptions of the action, costumes and scenery for people who are blind or have low vision.

Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 18 at 1 p.m.

Open-Captioned Performances 
LED screens display text simultaneously with the performance onstage.

Saturday, January 4 at 1 p.m.
Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 12 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, January 15 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, January 22 at 1 p.m.

The Guthrie also offers ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances upon request. Requests must be received at least two weeks in advance and can be directed to 612.225.6390 or accessibility@guthrietheater.org.

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