Review: KRISTINA WONG, SWEATSHOP OVERLORD at Kirk Douglas Theatre

There are defining moments in our lives where we either shrink away in fear or make a stand at all costs. In 2020, at the beginning of a global health crisis, under the order of a shelter-in-place lockdown, Kristina Wong faced such a moment. And in that moment, Kristina Wong became a warrior.

It's not that she meant to be one. No, not at all, in fact. In her one-woman show, Kristina Wong SWEATSHOP OVERLORD, the artist goes to great lengths to explain, as the crow flies, that single-handedly taking on the COVID-19 pandemic was no more than an offering of service to her fellow humans during a period of personal crisis. A way of reclaiming herself while feeling lost inside a contagion she did not start, and very likely would not survive as a creative talent with a show now canceled because of schools going entirely online, theaters closing, and public spaces barred from operating.

Like Diana, fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves, Wong, by needle and thread, will and strength, self-made patterns, extra fabrics, elastics, and a badly named Facebook page, self-created a nationwide army of dedicated sewing Aunties who served the American people better than their own government, in the battle of our time. But, make no mistake, SWEATSHOP OVERLORD is more than just masks.

There were a lot of considerations in the early days of tribute. The most serious one is being Asian. Vengeance and violence took hold in many places across the U.S. against Asian-American communities once news channels began reporting China as the viral origin. Offering help in the first place was like Katniss Everdeen stepping in for her baby sister to fight in the pits while being blamed for the virus just by nature of being Asian; having to "defend herself while compassionate". But like any of the heroines I could possibly reference, Wong embodies all of them in her own fierce amalgamation. The result is considerably hysterical in the most unpredictable ways.

The set alone expresses her true humorous and meticulous nature. Battle interludes relay Wong's ever-fluctuating emotional and mental state as she must navigate the unexpected success of her operations, being catapulted into the limelight, racism, anti-mask movements, and sometimes heavy losses. But through it all, Wong keeps her faith in herself and why she's making the sacrifice. It's not always easy. It's not always fun. But she remains absolute in one statement alone...It was worth it.

Kristina Wong SWEATSHOP OVERLORD is filled with color from set and lighting design, language, and emotion. Real in every sense of the word, the show's comical freshness is as poignantly eye-opening as it is delightful. A real-life, multiple-level artistic and personal triumph of the most intimate proportions.

Written and Performed by Kristina Wong

Directed by Chay Yew

A Co-Production with East West Players

Scenic Design: Junghyun Georgia Lee

Costume Design: Linda Cho

Lighting Design: Amith Chandrashaker

Sound Design: Mikhail Fiksel and Adam Salberg

Projection Design: Caite Hevner

CTG Associate Artistic Director: Lindsay Allbaugh

Production Stage Manager: Julia Zaya-Melendez

Performed without intermission

On day three of the COVID-19 pandemic Wong began sewing masks out of old bed sheets and bra straps on her Hello Kitty sewing machine. Before long, she was leading the Auntie Sewing Squad, a work-from-home sweatshop of hundreds of volunteers - including children and her own mother - to fix the U.S. public health care system while in quarantine. It was a feminist care utopia forming in the midst of a crisis.

Kristina Wong, SWEATSHOP OVERLORD is a Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lortel Award-winning Pulitzer Finalist and recently the recipient of En Garde Arts the Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Award.

Photo by Javier Vasquez: Kristina Wong in "Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord" at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre February 12 through March 12, 2023, a co-production with East West Players.