Review: HOW TO BE A KOREAN WOMAN at Theater J

Like many adoptees when they reach adulthood, Sun Mee Chomet had a desire to find her biological parent.

For her, it involved a trip to Korea from Midwestern U.S. suburbs, a phalanx of agencies, interpreters and a producer of a reality show. Once she connected, though, she found a whole lot of things about herself through an almost primal connection with a mother she’d never known, a frail grandmother and two spirited aunts. 

An actress in Minnesota, Chomet developed her personal story into a solid one-woman stage piece. Because her American adoptive parents were Jewish — and she found connections between the cultures — the work, “How to Be a Korean Woman” is getting its east coast premiere at Theater J.

It’s a rather straightforward narrative, told directly by Chomet, with more more direct storytelling than elaborately acting out.

But she does flesh out the amusing operatives at the Korean agencies who seem helpful but insist on calling her by her adopted name Rachel, as they send her between agencies. Finding the doorstep where she is said to have been left at six months turns out to be another dispiriting dead end. 

The frustration grows until she reaches a last resort — a reality show that arranges on-camera reunions called “I Miss That Person.” And while the modest stage setting fails to provide the kind of over-the-top studio experience that show would have been, Chomet finds her case has been dropped by the show - although a sympathetic producer tips her off at what they did find.

The resulting reunion washes away all of the frustrations and longing for the subject — and for the audience, as Chomet is able to embody the woman who gave her birth; a bent and aged grandmother and the brassier personalities of her aunts, who find their salvation in constant shopping.

It’s an emotionally engaging tale that’s told before a rapt audience. After all, this is the personal story of the person who lived through it, a person who is obviously levelheaded, appreciated her upbringing, but needed to have this part of her life investigated. 

Dressed in tights for the performance, Chomet is something of a dancer as well, and interprets some important moments in the story through movement — and quite successfully. Not every emotion can be expressed verbally. 

Music adds a bit to the emotional undertow, but the use of recorded narrative at a couple of points didn’t seem necessary. Another aspect of Zaraawar Mistry’s production is the use of a series of slides at the beginning and end of the 80-minute piece. Fewer would have been better, as when a baby picture is flashed in the middle of the work. A succession of pictures sometimes threatens to become a slide show. 

But largely, “How to Be a Korean Woman” first developed a dozen years ago in Minneapolis, is a beautiful and rather brave work, told with grace and confidence, with a story that can serve as both a universal tale for finding oneself even as it addresses specific issues of culture, nature and nurture. 

Running time: About 85 minutes.

Photo credit: Sun Mee Chomet, photo by Aaron Fenster from the Guthrie Theater Production. 

“How to Be a Korean Woman” plays through Jan. 14 at Theater J, in the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St NW. Tickets available online. Marks required for performances Thursday evening and Saturday matinee performances. 

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