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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2023)
Page 8 January 25, 2023 Arts & ENTERTAINMENT Young Americans kicks off at Portland Center Stage Preview performances set to begin February 11 Portland Center Stage presents the newest play from one of the most exciting playwrights in the country — the world premiere of Lauren Yee’s Young Americans, directed by Desdemona Chiang. Commissioned by PCS, Young Americans takes audiences on two road trips, traveling to and from Portland, 20 years apart. Young Americans begins preview performances on February 11, opens on February 17, and runs through March 26 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Young Americans is a co-production with Pittsburgh Public Theater. Tickets are on sale now. Yee is a powerhouse play- wright who continues to rank among the top-produced play- wrights in the country. Prior to the pandemic closures, Yee was World Premiere of Lauren Yee’s Young Americans slated to have 18 productions of her plays showing at regional the- aters across the country. PCS’s production of this play is espe- cially meaningful, not only be- cause the play was commissioned by PCS, but because it will finally be making its world premiere af- ter initially being postponed due to the COVID shutdown. Among the many accolades from the press, Yee’s work has been hailed as “profoundly as- tonishing,” “whip-smart and very funny,” “thoroughly compelling,” and “exceptionally entertaining.” The Chicago Tribune called Yee “a talented, smart, and very funny writer.” DC Metro Theater Arts has said that her work “will have you laughing and thinking. It will linger in my memory for weeks and months to come.” Performink called her work “brilliant,” saying that “the ebb and flow of her sto- rytelling is a joy ride, packed with humor and a self-awareness that embraces the audience.” While Yee was working with PCS on the development of Young Americans, she spoke about the im- portance of supporting new work: “Every masterpiece out there, every piece of art that you love and that you accept as cannon was once a new piece. It was once a new play, it was a new musical, it was some- thing that hadn't existed before, and was brought into the world by art- ists who hoped that it may become something new and add something to the conversation. We need to con- tinue exploring who we are in this moment and think about what else we want to add to that cannon.” ABOUT THE PLAY This hilarious, heartfelt new play veers back and forth in time as it takes audiences on two road trips, across two generations. In one, immigrants Jenny and Joe drive from the East Coast to Portland, OR, trying to connect as a newly engaged couple. 20 years later, Joe and their adopted daughter, Lucy, set out on a simi- lar cross-country adventure. With some unexpected detours along the way, Jenny and Joe traverse the strange territory of their new country, while their daughter, Lucy, pieces together their bitter- sweet family history. This beauti- ful comedy offers a fresh look at a U.S. road trip through the lens of the immigrant experience. Yee ex- plores what home and belonging mean to those in transition — and the lengths we will go to for the people we love.
