A Conversation with the heart sellers director Director Desdemona Chiang
Two Women. One Thanksgiving. And a Very American Story.
It’s Thanksgiving 1973. Luna, a recent immigrant from the Philippines, and Jane, a recent immigrant from South Korea, find themselves far from home while their husbands are away. Neither wants to spend Thanksgiving alone.
What begins as a slightly awkward evening between two strangers slowly becomes something much more: a funny, warm and revealing conversation about friendship, marriage, loneliness, America and what it means to leave one home behind while trying to make another.
Director Desdemona Chiang returns to The Heart Sellers at Virginia Stage Company after previously directing the play with Angeleia “Angel” Ordoñez and Bridget Kim, who once again play Luna and Jane. We asked Desdemona what audiences can expect.
For someone who has never heard of The Heart Sellers, what kind of experience can they expect?
“It will be heartwarming and lovely. I think the play just goes down really easy. A lot of times you go to the theater and all you see is doom and gloom and tragedy, and I think it’s nice to just go and feel good about people.
“I think it’s rare to see a relationship with this country told from the perspective of two women not from this country. In some ways, it’s a story about the American psyche as much as it is about female relationships.”
The play takes place more than 50 years ago. Why does its story of immigration still resonate?
“On a very superficial level, yes, it is about immigration and who gets to be American, who gets to call this place home.
“I think a lot of times the narrative around immigration in this country is that the ideal immigrant is one that is displaced and lost and finds America. But there’s an entire other group of immigrants who leave perfectly good lives. Maybe not perfect lives, but perfectly functional, survivable lives. And when they come to America, their lives actually get a little worse before it gets better.”
There are some big ideas underneath the story, but the play is also very funny. Why is that humor important?
“Humor is so essential because it keeps the play from becoming overly sentimental. You make jokes around the things that are horrible and lonely. Humor is a defense mechanism and a kind of social lubricant.
“Luna and Jane know: you’re lonely, I’m lonely. Let’s hang out and have Thanksgiving together. But they can’t get there right away. We have to do the avoidant vulnerability dance.”
What might surprise audiences about The Heart Sellers?
“To see the same anxieties I have today about the government, about my country, reflected in a play set in 1973 from the perspective of two young Asian women. They’re actually reflecting what I’m thinking right now. I think that might be surprising.”
