A Holiday Hit with Humor, Heart, & Half-Cooked Turkeys
November 17, 2024
The Heart Sellers sails onto the Keating stage this December, offering holiday audiences the chance to experience this thoughtful and intelligent comedy. The second show of the 24-25 Winter Mainstage Season, the play tells the story of Jane and Luna, two Asian immigrants who form an unexpected connection during a pivotal moment in history.
On a chilly Thanksgiving Day in 1973, the two women, both wearing the same K-Mart coat, meet in a grocery store and decide to spend the holiday together.
“The play was written about…how one can just feel isolated when you’re watching the world outside your apartment burn. And where do you find, how can you find comfort? How can you find solidarity with those who are unlike you in a moment like that?” playwright Lloyd Suh asked in an interview with Milwaukee Rep.
Against the tumultuous backdrop of the 1970s political landscape, The Heart Sellers is a two-woman play filled with wit and passion. With their overworked husbands away, Luna invites Jane to her tiny apartment for Thanksgiving. The two develop an awkward but genuine camaraderie as they bond over their similarities and laugh at their differences.
Our beautiful America was built by a nation of strangers. Those who do come will come because of what they are, and not because of the land from which they sprung.
Inspired by his own mother’s experiences, Lloyd Suh crafts a story that is both historically grounded and strikingly modern. Jane and Luna emerge as contemporary young women — planning trips to Disney and nightclubs while also questioning their roles in their own lives. The play smoothly transitions from heart-felt moments to hilarious one-liners—high-lighting that even the loneliest among us is never truly alone.
“The play was written during the pandemic. It was written during conversations around immigration policy and how they affect real people in real time,” stated Lloyd Suh.
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the emptiness of solitude and brought immigration issues to the forefront for many. In The Heart Sellers, these themes are explored through the lens of the 1970s.
The play is named after the Hart-Celler Act, a piece of immigration reform that allowed an influx of immigrants from non-European countries into the United States, shaping the modern Asian-American community.
The play highlights the humanity of people often lost to history and reduced to stereotypes. Filled with humor, heart, and half-cooked turkeys, The Heart Sellers is a holiday hit you won’t want to miss.