October 29th, 2019

Aubergine by Julia Cho at South Coast Repertory
​Oct 19 - Nov 16, 2019

Sometimes a meal is more than just food. A man shares a bowl of berries and a young woman falls in love. A mother meticulously prepares her son’s favorite dish to keep him from leaving home. And a Korean-American son cooks soup for his ailing father to say what words cannot. The perfect bite transcends time and cultural differences in this poetic tale of love, loss and healing by the author of The Language Archive and Office Hour.

Previews: ​​October ​19-​24, 2019
First Night: ​​​October ​25, 2019
Regular Performances: October ​26 - November 16, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2019-10-28/on-theater-a-full-plate-of-theater-with-aubergine-at-south-coast-repertory
Jinn S. Kim brings an aura of reality to the central role of Ray, who’s striving to excel in an area for which his father had no earthly use — food preparation. Kim’s frustrations over his confusing relationship with the elderly man are splendidly depicted.

http://www.stagescenela.com/2019/10/aubergine/
Under Lisa Peterson’s nuanced direction, performances could not be finer, from Kim’s scruffily handsome, obstinately prickly Ray to a never-better Lee’s hard-edged but tender-hearted Cornelia to Mutu’s wise and caring Lucien to Baek’s Korean-speaking charmer of an Uncle.

https://www.ocregister.com/2019/10/29/theater-review-aubergine-at-south-coast-repertory-is-filling-but-could-use-a-bit-more-spice/
Briefly, the story focuses on a young chef Ray (a nicely grounded turn by Jinn S. Kim) who is contending with his father’s (Sab Shimono) slow passing from liver cirrhosis, a disease that the self-preoccupied son is unaware of until it is too late.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-10-29/south-coast-repertory-julia-cho-aubergine-review
Kim’s Ray, guyishly deflective with tattoos running defiantly up his arms, allows the ending of his father’s life to transform him even without the benefit of mythological closure.

https://ocweekly.com/food-and-feelings-fuel-julia-chos-aubergine-at-south-coast-repertory/?fbclid=IwAR2xaLBXjSe8JrA8EEqjEkJ6tblvd4EFtkXctAXvwQtgrI9LEYhg_7FITmI
Ray (a wonderfully deceptive Jinn S. Kim, who lives rather than telegraphs his transformation from cold and insular to fully engaged person) is a type-A chef who took to the kitchen mostly because his father, who immigrated to America after the Korean War, never stepped foot in it.

https://www.rafu.com/2019/10/aubergine-at-south-coast-rep-explores-food-and-family/