Review Roundup: JESA Opens at The Public Theater

Read reviews for JESA at The Public Theater, the world premiere play by Jeena Yi. The production follows four sisters navigating family tensions during a traditional ritual. Critics are weighing in on the new play directed by Mei Ann Teo.

The cast includes Tina Chilip, Christine Heesun Hwang, Laura Sohn, and Shannon Tyo. The production features scenic design by You-Shin Chen, costume design by Mel Ng, lighting design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, and sound design by Hao Bai.

See what critics are saying about JESA below.

Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: In her stunning playwriting debut, Korean American actress Jeena Yi has managed to create a masterpiece. Jesa, a Ma-Yi Theater Company production now playing at the Public Theater, is an instant classic that blends elements of domestic drama (subset: fractious family reunion), ghost story, and anthropological study of the Korean tradition known as jesa. This annual gathering allows families to commemorate their dead ancestors through a combination of food, ritual bowing, and the generous pouring and consumption of the boozy, rice-based spirit soju.

Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review: Jeena Yi makes her Off Broadway debut as a playwright with Jesa. Opening Friday at the Public Theater, Jesa is an enjoyable dramedy about four Korean American sisters, adults in the prime of their lives, who get together one night to honor their deceased parents with a traditional Korean ceremony known by that name.

Billy McEntee, Time Out New York: Otherwise, Yi’s play is more crowded than a jesa’s offering table. Secrets come to light in the wake of loss: marital strife, unplanned pregnancy, anger management, child abuse. The plot is overstuffed, but director Mei Ann Teo’s committed cast is palpably believable as a family; the actors easily flip between rage and compassion, fighting and forgiving as only sisterhood allows. It’s formulaic but comforting in that way: Some things never change.

Christian Lewis, New York Theatre Guide: Although the play, like the ritual at its center, is rooted in one culture, it’s deeply relatable. Many cultures have similar mourning rituals, be it an anniversary memorial mass, sitting shiva, tomb sweeping days, or altar building. Jesa explores how parents linger after death — as thoughts, recipes, traditions, traumas, and spirits. Anyone with families they love and fight with will find resonance in this equally funny and emotional play.

Average Rating: 75.0%