THE FAMILY ALBUM La Jolla Playhouse
*DISCLAIMER: The writer of the following review is currently employed as an intern at La Jolla Playhouse, where The Family Album was produced. The opinions expressed in the piece are those of the author writing in a personal capacity and do not represent the views of La Jolla Playhouse.
What could be more universal than family? That is the question asked by the new musical debuting at La Jolla Playhouse this summer, The Family Album,. The story follows Mia Bing (Aury Krebs), a singer/songwriter trying to make it big in the music world while haunted by her past and family trauma. Her mother’s sudden hospitalization draws her back to her family home, where all the wounds of her life there are unearthed and retread. Although the plot follows established contours of storytelling, the musical distinguishes itself through its pounding and addictive soundtrack and deeply personal, sincere messaging.
The superlative songs are augmented by the fact that their main singer is a singular talent. Aury Krebs as Mia is a musical phenom on the stage, blasting energy out so much so that the walls of the theatre can scarcely contain it. Krebs almost never leaves the stage and manages to maintain passion, depth of emotion, and radical talent throughout her performance. She meets the moments of pumped-up sarcastic hilarity with equal skill to her mastery of the somber reflective numbers, combining into a whole spectacular and rounded character.
(L-R) Marc delaCruz, Aury Krebs and Courtney Reed
in La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere musical THE FAMILY ALBUM; photo by Rich Soublet II.
The majority of the show consists of the entire Bing family expressing in dialogue and soliloquy the ways the tense need for perfection enforced both by their parents’ standards and the cultural stereotype of a high-achieving Asian-American family hurts them in very deep ways. Mia’s older sister, Charlotte (Courtney Reed), feels that she must hold everything together and eternally keep up the appearance of the perfect mother and daughter, a daily performance which corrodes Charlotte’s nerves and leaves her liable to collapse under the tension. Mia’s younger brother, Daniel (Marc delaCruz), is burned by the searing expectations placed upon him by being his parents’ favored child and having a high-income job in finance, which elicits heaps of praise Daniel does not feel is warranted. Mia’s parents Sylvia (Jodi Long) and Henry (Paul Nakauchi), although the source of so much of the trauma in the lives of their children, are still humanized deeply by the musical. We see how they were discovering how to be parents while getting their bearings, having immigrated to a new country and facing racism levied their way not just in the form of cruel personal bigotries, but also embedded in the institutions of the country they thought would yield opportunities openly. The family is such a fantastic bunch of actors portraying compellingly flawed but entertaining and sympathetic characters.
The final member of the cast is a young version of Mia (Claire Kwon) whom Mia and Sylvia interact with in moments that operate both as flashback and metaphor for how the two flounder when they try to communicate. Young Mia is an excellent addition to the show, who allows for the intergenerational trauma inflicted upon Mia to manifest itself in how she treats her realized younger self. Not to mention the fact that Kwon is exceptionally gifted as a performer and stars in the most energetic, jump-out-of-your-seat number in the whole musical.
Front and center throughout this show are the problems that confront an Asian-American woman attempting to succeed as a musician. Connie K. Lim (known by her wonderful stage name, MILCK), who helped conceive the story and co-wrote the music and lyrics, is not being coy with certain autobiographical elements of the narrative, and the earnestness with which they are displayed and the loving way director Jess McLeod teased apart the themes of empowerment make for a wonderful and moving night of theatre.
It is worth highlighting at this point that the entire creative team is composed of women of color, a distinction which all theatres should pursue at least one…HUNDRED times when they program their prospective productions. Inviting a team of all marginalized voices to share their perspectives through theatre allows for storytelling choices and the inclusion of details that would be disregarded or ignored by a more hegemonic team of creators. The Family Album is a story that could only be told by a group of POC women collaborating to evince a struggle specific to their experiences and to celebrate a community of their own.
For the powerful and emotionally affecting performances, for the blasting band that will get you full of hype, for the open and vulnerable analysis of life in an Asian-American family, The Family Album at La Jolla Playhouse is a gorgeous performance decidedly worth seeing.
Buy tickets here.
