The Heart Sellers, Huntington Theatre at Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, through December 23. 617-933-8600 or bostontheatrescene.com
Asian immigration to America and eventual citizenship increased significantly thanks to the Hart-Celler Act (though LGBTQ+ immigrants were excluded until the Immigration Act of 1990). Korean playwright Lloyd Suh ("The Chinese Lady," strongly staged recently at Central Square Theatre) cleverly references this 1965 relative breakthrough for Asian immigrants in the title of his new work "The Heart Sellers," now in an affecting Huntington Theatre area premiere at the Calderwood Pavilion.
While the 90-minute, no-intermission play could do with more back story about its very different characters—Filipino Luna and Korean Jane, Suh does make their journey from grocery shoppers to real friends engaging, humorous and generally convincing.
Set in an unspecified U.S. city on November 22,1973, "The Heart Sellers" finds Jane joining Luna at the latter's unassuming apartment—one well detailed by designer Junghyun Georgia Lee (a first generation Korean-American herself)—for company and conversation that become as inviting for them as they might hope Thanksgiving would be. While Luna and Jane struggle to make a go of the former's frozen turkey—at which time Jane humorously reveals that she watches Julia Child's cooking show, they soon discover that they have a lot in common.
Both wear coats purchased at K-Mart. More importantly, they are married to workaholic husbands who regularly work very late. Additional information about their respective marriages would add considerably to the play's partial focus on the wives' loneliness.
Eventually they even pour out their hearts about the dreams they have yet to fulfill. Extrovert Luna, remarkably talkative in the early going, loves to sing and eventually does so briefly—here sweet-voiced Jenna Agbayani—at the bidding of Jane. Jane, as she proverbially lets her hair down, speaks of liking "Soul Train" and dances energetically—kudos to actress Judy Song. Song artfully takes Jane from early diffidence to an exuberant embrace of life and friendship.
For her part, Jane—who admires the work of such artists as Chagall and Monet—speaks of art school and wanting to be a painter. As Luna empathizes with Jane, she speaks of a possible visit to Paris and the Louvre. In this light, Henry Mancini fans will welcome a background bit of "Moon River," which speaks of two drifters off to see the world.
Most important of all, both immigrants come to the realization that their K-Mart clothes and Americanization are metaphorically a 'costume'—something that does not reflect their inner 'real heart,' their respective ethnic heritages.
Under May Adrales' attentive direction, Agbayani and Song capture the beauty of Luna and Jane's Thanksgiving exploration and mutual understanding. At the same time, the very talented actresses sing out the exhilarating enjoyment the new friends share as they humorously speak of such possible adventures as visiting a nightclub or seeing a pornographic movie.
Playwright Suh has chronicled both the manipulation of a token title Asian in "The Chinese Lady" and the full expressiveness of two strong willed Asian women in "The Heart Sellers." Do not be put off by quick accent-rich exchanges in his new play. Suh's heartfelt insights are well-seasoned.