Yohen at David Henry Hwang Theater

Yohen

David Henry Hwang Theater
120 Judge John Aiso St. Los Angeles

In Japanese pottery, the term "yohen" refers to unpredictable changes that take place in the kiln. James and Sumi Washington are an interracial couple struggling to maintain their 37-year marriage after James retires from the US Army. The dramatic change in routine prompts questions about life, love, and aging, as the couple attempts to repair what's broken and decide what is worth saving.

Presented by East West Players

Thru - Nov 19, 2017

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Price: $40-$60

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 213-625-7000

www.eastwestplayers.org

David Henry Hwang Theater Seating Chart

Yohen Reviews

Average Rating based on 7 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...But the script has drawbacks. It withholds too many important details until the end, by which point we've long since given up hope that the play is anything more than an unfortunate eavesdrop on a neighbor's marital discord."

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- Daryl H. Miller

LA Weekly - Recommended

"...Set in 1986, Philip Kan Gotanda's Yohen depicts the unraveling of a 37-year marriage. Although it tumbles off-track in its final third, the play to that point is an astute portrayal of the dynamics of a failed intimacy. Directed by Ben Guillory, in a co-production by East West Players and the Robey Theatre Company, the production gravitates around Glover's affecting performance as a bewildered husband trying desperately to please the woman he loves."

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- Deborah Klugman

Broadway World - Recommended

"...The Robey Theatre Company has teamed up with East West Players to present an intriguing production of YOHEN directed by Ben Guillory. How generous an actor Danny Glover to cede the East West stage to June Angela's dominating performance of Sumi, the traditional, meek Japanese housewife finally coming into her own after 37 years of marriage to James (Glover's character). Angela's Sumi (running the gambit of emotions from very proper Japanese to flirty date to full-blown, frustrated wife yearning for more, demanding for more of anything) takes full advantage to tower over Glover's committed portrayal of an aged, fumbling, despondent James, many times at lost with his own words."

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- Gil Kaan

Edge - Recommended

"...The set designed by Christopher Scott Murillo and well back-lit by Michael Rick's emotion-enhancing design, is lovely and illuminative of the home the wife has supplied to the marriage. The overall look of the play works well with this theme. See this if you can as it speaks volumes about all marriages."

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- Dale Reynolds

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Director James Guillory's staging is a remounting of a 1999 co-production between East West Players and the Robey Theatre Company, which also co-produces here. Gotanda's drama is thoughtful and often quite melancholy, although there's a lot of wisdom in the discussion of the nature of long term relationships. The show hasn't aged badly; really, Glover, who appeared in the original production, only seems better cast now, if possible and imbues his character with a gravitas and fragility that is tender and appealing."

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- Paul Birchall

Stage Scene LA - Somewhat Recommended

"...Danny Glover gives East West Players/Robey Theatre Company's revival of Philip Kan Gotanda's Yohen plenty of movie-star box-office draw, but Gotanda's delicate, perceptive "portrait of a marriage" and Yohen's luminous leading lady June Angela deserve better than Glover's lackadaisical performance as a retired African-American soldier estranged from his Japanese wife of thirty-plus years."

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- Steven Stanley

Stage Raw - Highly Recommended

"...Gotanda's script is perceptive and thoughtful, always fascinating to watch, and develops an eloquent intensity - but he has taken on so many issues involving race, nationality life style and personal choice that we sometimes get lost in the proliferating conflicts. Director Ben Guillory has cast the piece beautifully and directed it with sensitivity, and the two actors provide memorable performances. Glover nimbly captures the perplexity and frustration of a man whose wife suddenly begins making strange demands on him, just when he thought he could finally retire and take things easy. And Angela paints a memorable portrait of the iron will that lurks beneath the feminine deference of a traditional Japanese woman."

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- Neal Weaver