Tonight I saw a surprisingly wonderful production of a modern play by Lauren Yee called Cambodian Rock Band in the intimate Thomas Theatre. It’s the most recent in a series of asian based plays OSF has put on over the last several years. It was funny, moving, and educational. It used the Cambodian’s enthusiasm for pop music to tell the story of the communist takeover of Cambodia and the resulting purges in the 1970s. It was one of those rare plays that opens my eyes to something I didn’t know a lot of details about, and left me wanting to go learn more. The cast switched between roles in a rock band — that actually played great — characters in the 1970s, then charters in the 2008. The actor who played the central character, a young musician, then a prisoner, the later a seemingly nerdy dad was outstanding. It would completely transform just by putting on some glasses and changing a shirt, and you almost wouldn’t recognize him as the same person. This play was just fantastic! I’m tempted to come back and see it again as a key role will be played by a different actor before I leave.
Prior to the play there was a little drama as one older lady tripped on the edge of the raised stage and took a serious header. Some lady from the audience came out and helped her and worked on her for quite a while (must have been a nurse or doctor). She ended up leaving the theater before the play started.
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