Stages Houston 'The Heart Sellers': Stunning, Emotional, and Heartfelt

HOUSTON, TX -- With immigration a current hot-button issue, Stages in Houston has made a bold choice with its presentation of ‘The Heart Sellers,’ a play about two immigrant wives whose doctor husbands are in training in their unknown mid-size city. Don’t worry, no one is gonna be deported, these ladies did it the right way, legally; but with their hubbies gone most of the time, and with their acquaintance anew, underlying issues that affect the heart crop up. Issues that a wife, or wives, don’t necessarily want to worry their spouses with, who are already under enough pressure with their jobs. The play happens to take place on Thanksgiving Day, 1973, and the ladies find that moving to a foreign land, and understanding national holidays may still be a bridge too far, but there's still hope in a budding friendship.

‘The Heart Sellers’ is an incredible tribute to the pioneering Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants from the mid-1960’s to the early 1970’s, following the passage of The Hart-Celler Act of 1965; which allowed a preference system based on skills and family ties to immigrate to America. The play is filled with touching episodes of laughter and isolation, with the beginning of hope through the strength of friendship. It’s a one-act affair about new families coming to America with a simple message, of working hard to create a better life, and building strength of character to charge-on and succeed, despite the distance separated by families back home.

“The Heart Sellers looks at a pivotal moment in time, when the conditions were created for much of what we’re currently grappling with a nation around our collective history,” said playwright Lloyd Suh. “It’s a play of giving thanks, making new friends, and finding home in a new place.”

The show centers around Luna (Mai Lê), a young Filipina housewife, who meets Jane (Alexandra Szeto-Joe), a South Korean woman, at a supermarket on T-Day. The two are celebrating turkey day together seeing as their husbands are doctors, residents at a local hospital, having been tasked to work on the national holiday. The two ladies burst into Luna’s apartment grocery bags in hand, with the Filipina talking at a hundred miles per hour, all excited to have someone to finally chat with, who happens to have a shared experience of coming from a far away land. Poor Jane is stunned because her English still lacks the level of her new amigo, plus she is still at the shy stage of the acquaintance; still trying to adjust to the new surroundings, while being bombarded with tales of K-Mart, future wishes to drive, a non-understanding of Halloween, while being beset with offers of Cheetos, Ritz crackers, and easy cheese.

The Korean isn't talkative at first, but mentions her love of Julia Childs and watching popular television shows of the early 1970’s like ‘The Price is Right,’ and ‘Sanford and Son.’ which up until then, were her only friends. Admissions from both sides tell the tale of missed family members in their respective homelands. Jane still has a brother, but her parents have passed away. Luna reminisces about her large family, but her heart hardens when noting Philippines' dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who began ruling her home islands under the iron fist of martial law the year before. To counter the doldrum, Luna offers wine, which Jane refuses initially, as they unwrap the turkey. The Filipina proclaims claims she has no idea how to cook thanksgiving fowl, then the Hangug-in sugnyeo’s humor begins to rise in proclamation of her turkey cooking knowledge; despite the bird not having been defrosted. It’s a lovely icebreaker as they begin to cook, smashing Jane’s tension, and bringing out her sense of humor allowing her to be more expressive.

The new friendship begins to bloom as the day wanes and the wine flows, along with the consumption of the apps of the aforementioned snacks. The pair opens up to each other about their lonely home life with the work patterns of their husbands. Emotionally of the two, Jane, whose real name is Hong Ja Ha, decided to call herself ‘Jane’ after that Fonda girl. She is the stronger of the two, having suffered the passing of her parents, as well as seeing the destruction of the war between the Koreas. The strength that Jane possesses will be of great comfort to Luna emotionally as the relationship between the friends develops.

The rhetoric between the ladies is one of regret and yearning for themes that bring happiness to the soul. Luna’s struggle to remain tied to her native land amid her American isolation, sees her weeping several times in the production, only to bounce back with humor almost immediately. For the Filipina, crossing the border into America meant giving up her Phillipine soul, and a complete separation from her far away family. It’s a reference to the Act of Congress (Hart-Celler), which gives rise to the play's title, that allowed her and millions more like her to emigrate to America. She goes to the uni atheneum to read the Manilian newspapers, but still longs for the smell of the rain, dust, and other characteristics of her country.

The two prattle on of adventures real and imagined. Jane, initially staggered at the process, is a quick learner and counters Luna’s melancholy, enabling her to lift her spirits from the cellar of despair. Jane worries about her future life as a wife and mother. Yes, the family will have means, but she is torn because of the possibility that her role as a mother will be different in how her mother raised her; with tender love, mercy, and Filipino tradition.

New York City based director Miranda Cornell, painted a masterpiece, drawing on two wonderfully talented actresses, Mai Lê and Alexandra Szeto-Joe; ladies with amazing resumes that were more than capable of taking up the task. Lê and Szeto-Joe's performance totally put the audience at ease. The two were the metals that created gold, as they guided the theatergoers through the roller coaster of emotions that were presented on stage.

“It’s hard to believe that a little over six weeks ago, I had never been here,” said Cornell. “But I’m confident you will love what we have in store for you this evening.”

None of this could have happened without the hand of Lloyd Suh, who is as American as George Washington and apple pie. His ability to decipher and relay to a contemporary audience the initial struggles that the Asian-PI immigrants were subject to, that lead the way to the ladies friendships, and eventual acceptance, belonging, and successes. It’s a testament on how to create a niche in America, for all immigrants.

The scenic designer Zhuosi “Joyce” He, had an amazing creative vision that brought about a believable flat that was appropriate for the times, while properties designer Jodi Bodrovsky was a beautiful farmer harvesting the proper period appliances and items, noting the small details that enabled a small apartment of the time to spring to life. Christina Giannelli, the lighting designer, bathed the set in warm and proper brightness, while the sound designers Chris Bakos and Anthony Barilla, teamed up to perfection with proper reverbs emitting from their designed locations, like the television. And costume designer, Gissel Rubio, did a wonderful job, especially with the ‘home clothes,’ which were a special touch.

Lastly, kudos go out to the Artistic Director, Derek Charles Livingston, and Managing Director, Gwen Watkins. Bravo to you guys for still believing in Kenn McLaughlin’s vision in bringing ‘The Heart Sellers’ to Houston. And we look forward to Mr. Livingston’s first full season as AD for 2025-26; and thank you both for the amazing product that continues to hail from the soapbox at Stages.

‘The Heart Sellers,’ is a beautiful interpretation of Luna and Jane’s adventure to The New World. The audience is privy to the peeling back of the onion which represents the initial struggles of immigration to a new land, and its stages, but as is seen in the production, friendship, and its healing grace, can be so helpful in surviving the challenges it presents.

On a personal note: This play was very eye-opening to the audience, but it was a real gut punch for me. The mentions of communism and a frightened Filipina in a foreign land was all too real for yours truly. As a young soldier I was in East Berlin, before and after ‘The Fall of the Berlin Wall,’ giving tours to American civilian contractors; driving them from Helmstedt, West Germany, through the Russian checkpoints in East Germany, then onto West Berlin. On one such trip in summer 1989, I was approached in an East Berlin bare-shelved department store in an out of the way place, by a young Filipina. The so-called ‘East German Socialist Workers paradise’ was anything but for the young woman, who had American features and was truly beautiful. Her passport had been confiscated by the East German government; and she could not leave the country. When she was not working, she was confined to her billet. Incredibly, I had the means to get her out, but getting my team together was difficult on such short notice, and by the time I was able to return to the store, she had gone. The worst part for me … in the middle of those fleeting moments of our time together. I had fallen in love with her. Three months later, The Berlin Wall fell.

Stages production of ‘The Heart Sellers’ runs through February 23rd.

For more information and tickets, visit: stageshouston.com or 713-527-0123 for tickets.

Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net