Theater Review: "Kim's Convenience" at Westport Country Playhouse

By Nancy Sasso Janis

Westport - Westport Country Playhouse is presenting “Kim’s Convenience” a heartwarming comedy written by Ins Choi through July 17. Before it was a hit on Canadian TV and Netflix, it was this warm and joyous play. The Westport production is directed with a keen eye to the details by Nelson T. Eusebio III with Michael Rossmy as fight director/intimacy coach.

A Toronto convenience store sets the stage for this delightful comedy about the four members of a Korean-Canadian family and which generation gets to choose their dreams. Mr. Kim (Appa) is a first-generation Korean immigrant and proud owner of a Toronto variety store. Kim’s Convenience is his life, his livelihood, and he is desperate for his daughter Janet to take over the store, but she has other plans.

The playwright decided to write this a story about an Asian family after a conversation with a colleague at the beginning of the pandemic about how to combat the rise of Asian hate crimes.
The two concluded “that in tandem with gathering as large groups to condemn such abhorrent behaviors and engaging in other political activism, the proactive part was continuing to write stories and mentoring younger Asian Canadian/American story-tellers.”

Choi, who was born in Korea and currently lives in Toronto, believes that there is a “quiet strength in stories as it allows us to see into the lives of others wholly different from ourselves only to realize how similar we all are. Through stories we're entertained as a group and comforted to know we’re not alone both in our struggles and what we find funny.

Choi’s debut play won the Best New Play award and the Patron's Pick at the 2011 Toronto Fringe festival and the premiere production was produced by Soulpepper Theatre Company in Toronto, Ontario. Ins was a writer, executive producer and co-creator of the “Kim’s Convenience” television series that ran for five seasons. This script definitely offers much fodder for future stories about these loveable characters.

It is so easy to fall in love with this family as we watch the hilarious journey each generation takes to live out their dreams. Almost all of the comedy can resonate for anyone and there is plenty of heart to enjoy in this story. Many will be able to relate to Mrs. Kim’s trying to explain the closure of the churches in her neighborhood.

David Shih leads the Equity cast in the role of the patriarch, Mr. Kim, called Appa by his adult children. Appa, who was a teacher in Korea, has run his convenience store since arriving in Canada in order to take care of his family. At times I wasn’t able to follow all of his dialogue, but his entire performance was excellent.

Chuja Seo portrays Kim’s wife, called Umma, and speaks in Korean with her husband and English with her children. Cindy Im is so believable in the role of the Kim’s 30-year-old daughter Janet, an aspiring photographer. Hyunmin Rhee is also spot on as the couple’s adult son, Jung.

Eric R. Williams almost seamlessly morphs into several characters, most importantly to an adorable police officer named Alex, an old friend of Jung with a crush on Janet.

The scenic design by You-Shin Chen is a work of art in its realistic rendering of a Korean convenience store in Canada. Every detail brings the characters and the audience into a functioning store, and even allows us to see out the doors into the sidewalk in front of it. Chen also provides an area for a church scene and a flashback scene with the married couple. Sean Sanford served as props supervisor for the convenience store. The contemporary costumes designed by Lux Haac add another layer of realism to the look of the production.

Next up at Westport Country Playhouse will be “4000 Miles” by Amy Herzog, opening on Aug. 23 and running only two weeks. “Kim’s Convenience” is presented without an intermission and runs about 80 minutes. The third show of the season runs until July 17 only.

The Playhouse continues to check proof of vaccination at the door and masks must be worn properly at all times.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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