Yu-Hsuan Chen

Off-Broadway Review: “Pumpgirl” at Irish Repertory Theatre’s W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

December 27, 2019 | irish repertory, Off-Broadway, pumpgirl > | "Pumpgirl", Abbie Spallen, Carol Rosegg, Clare O'Malley, Fan Zhang, Hamish Allan-Headley, Irish Repertory Theatre, Labhaoise Magee, Michael O’Connor, Molly Seidel, Nicola Murphy, W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre, Yu-Hsuan Chen

The strength of Abbie Spallen’s “Pumpgirl,” currently running at Irish Rep’s W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre, lies in the playwright’s authentic characters and their believable conflicts that connect to the timeless vicissitudes of the human condition. The pumpgirl (a lachrymose yet enlightened Labhaoise Magee) at the petrol station in present day County Armagh, Northern Ireland fantasizes night and day about…

Off-Broadway Review: WP Theater/Second Stage Theater’s “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” at the McGinn/Cazale Theater

December 22, 2019 | Off-Broadway > | "Our Dear Dead Drug Lord", Alexis Scheer, Alyssa May Gold, Andrew Jean, Carmen Berkeley, Fan Zhang, Judi Lewis Ockler, Kelly Gillespie CSA, Lucrecia Briceno, Malika Samuel, McGinn/Cazale Theater, Rebecca Jimenez, Second Stage Theater, Shira Friedman Photography, Whitney White, WP Theater, Yu-Hsuan Chen

“But women only need themselves to plant seeds in hearts and minds that stab and twist when they begin to root, ensnaring us all with just a thought.” – Pablo F***ing Escobar in “My Dear Dead Drug Lord” Alexis Sheer’s “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” in its final days at the McGinn/Cazale Theater, is deeply disturbing and profoundly important. Co-produced…

Off-Broadway Review: “Nomad Motel” at Atlantic Theater Company Stage 2

June 12, 2019 | Off-Broadway > | "Nomad Motel", Ahron R. Foster, Andrew Pang, Carla Ching, Christopher Larkin, Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Joy Lanceta Coronel, Loren Shaw, Margaret Dunn, Molly Griggs, Ryan-James Hatanaka, Samantha Mathis, Stephanie Yankwitt, TBD Casting, Yu-Hsuan Chen

With a nod (intentional/unintentional) to the genre of disillusioned youth represented by Kenneth Lonergan’s 1996 “This Is Our Youth,” Carla Ching’s “Nomad Motel” currently running at Atlantic Theater Company Stage 2 dives headlong into the lives of a triangle of vagabond California youth yearning to belatedly separate and individuate from adults who have been less than successful in providing safe…