Review: THE PAPER DREAMS OF HARRY CHIN at SF Playhouse

Award-winning playwright Jessica Huang's powerful story of the repercussions of the Chinese Exclusion Act is superbly realized by Director Jeffrey Lo (The Language Archive, The Santaland Diaries, Vietgone) and a stellar cast including my local fave Jomar Tagatac in another outstanding performance. Merging the sad history of people forced to change their identities with the mystical spirit world of Chinese fables, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin is must-see theatre at its finest.

Harry Chin (Jomar Tagatac) is crashing on his daughter Sheila's (Kina Kantor) couch, both grieving the suicide of his wife and her mother Laura (Carrie Paff). She wants him out and finds him an apartment much to his chagrin (the kitchen's too small). Sheila is disturbed over the presence of her mother's ghost and an old Buick that starts by itself.

Harry is seeing ghosts himself; Laura's, his best friend and fellow immigrant Poet (Will Dao) and his Chinese first wife Yuet (Sharon Shao). Harry's secret past unfolds in a series of fantastical leaps through time and location, from his first love and budding family in China to his attempt at entering the US using forged papers, to his job as a cook and his fragile marriage to Laura.

Scenic designer Christopher Fitzer has created a two-story rotating cube encompassing Sheila's apartment, Harry's new home, a US detention camp and Harry's restaurant kitchen. It's perfectly utilitarian and aided by overlaid projections by Teddy Hulsker and lighting by Kurt Landisman.

The scenes of Harry and Poet rehearsing their new identities in a detention camp are particularly heart wrenching, forced to denounce their pasts and start anew in a country rife with racism. Harry's interrogation by a faceless immigration officer (Michael Torres) is right out of Kafka's The Trial, filled with existential dread that we can only imagine.

Tagatac is simply amazing as a simple man caught between two worlds and finding navigation difficult. There's a simple beauty in the Chinese legends her relates to Laura, and the difficulty he faces in juggling two families. When these worlds collide, tragedy ensues, and the ghosts are present to assist Harry in redemption and unification of spirit.

The ensemble cast is wonderful, seamlessly moving between moments of gentle humor and despair. Huang's story exposes the dark underbelly of xenophobia and nationalism that still exists. Illustrating its affects through the empathetic character of Harry Chin supports the potency of her intent.

The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin continues through June 18th, 2022. Tickets are available at sfplayhouse.org or by calling (415) 677-9596.

Photo Credit: Jessica Palopoli