Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Rosalind Chao and BD Wong navigate the immigrant experience in WHAT BECAME OF US, Shayan Lofti’s eloquent new play

• By drediman
• June 6, 2024
• No Comments

This week, Atlantic Theater Company’s production of What Became of Us by Shayan Lofti (in his Off-Broadway playwriting debut) opened at Atlantic Stage 2. In short, the new two-hander tells the story of a pair of siblings — one born in an unspecified foreign country, the other born within just a few years after the family’s arrival in the United States — who must navigate the twists and turns of the immigrant experience.

What’s fascinating about the production is that it features two distinctly different casts over the course of its run — first Rosalind Chao and BD Wong, followed by Shohreh Aghdashloo and Tony Shalhoub (the latter commence next week). Indeed, Lofti’s references to the “old country” are vague and universal enough to accommodate actors of different ethnic backgrounds. That being said, the play is emphatically language-driven, featuring vividly descriptive writing that teeters between monologue and traditional dialogue as it charts the siblings’ respective life journeys (quite literally). Even if at times the painstaking detail and poetic eloquence of the writing camouflages some of the rawness of the characters’ often tough experiences, I was nonetheless thoroughly drawn into the characters’ world.

The Atlantic Theater production has been directed by Jennifer Chang, whose stripped-down yet elegant staging allows the writing and performances to paint the picture. As the older sister, Chao gives a serene, gently affecting performance that has stayed with me. As the more tempestuous younger brother, Wong is animated and a welcome contrast. It’ll be fascinating to see how these performances compare with their counterparts.

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WHAT BECAME OF US
Off-Broadway, Play
Atlantic Theater Company / Atlantic Stage 2
1 hour, 20 minutes
Through June 29