Our essential love of food, its sensual and medicinal qualities, our essential connection to death and dying, its sensorial and spiritual qualities, play an important part in Aubergine, with its titled homage to eggplant. The gifted Julia Cho’s play may be overwritten and overindulgent and with more climaxes and codas than a Beethoven symphony, but it is a haunting exploration of how a son copes with the process of dying as it applies to his estranged father. Not necessarily depressing but decidedly sad and remorseful in tone, Aubergine follows the course of care and its residual emotional toll on Ray (Tim Kang) a suddenly disengaged but accomplished chef.
Ray has taken upon himself to tend for his comatose father (Stephen Park) during his final days. A helping emotional hand comes from Ray’s devoted girlfriend Cornelia (Sue Jean Kim) whose support also includes acting as interpreter/translator between Ray and the father’s long-estranged brother (Joseph Steven Yang) who has arrived from Korea upon hearing the news.
Another character named Diane (Jessica Love, who also doubles as a hospital worker), who gives a long opening speech on the rapture experienced by epicureans eating exceptionally prepared food, adds an allegorical aspect to the core plot. Food is integral in the care as Ray is coerced into fixing a medicinal soup that requires a particular kind of turtle as a key ingredient.
Humor is injected into the play quite naturally as the relationships between the characters grow sharper and deeper, especially as the despondent Ray is made to see a more valued portrait of his father as told in a story by the Uncle.
Kang is excellent as the son whose animosity towards his father slowly grows toward compassion and empathy. Kim offers sparks of savvy and sophistication as the very supportive Cornelia. Yang doesn’t speak English (but we get his words translated by projected super titles) but is, nevertheless, impressive. Perhaps most impressive, however, is Michael Potts who offers wise and practical advice as Lucien, the visiting nurse. Monologues dot the play, even a rather poignant one given by the dying father in a flashback.
Derek McLane’s handsome revolving setting includes different locations. They fit a play that actually accommodates more of life than of death. A little more turtle soup, anyone?
