Beef (2023)

I admittedly came very late to Beef. Everyone has seen it already but I've at least gotten to it before the strike-delayed Emmys. And it's a super quick watch, a ten-episode miniseries at about 30 minutes each. It's an easily digestible format you could get through in a day. It's a compact beginning-middle-end. 

Beef is both dark comedy and thrilling drama. It strikes a balance. Surprisingly, Ali Wong, who I really only know as a stand up comic nails the dramatic side of the role too. Steven Yeun (who sings adequately and plays guitar at a Korean church) plays her rival in a road rage revenge that spirals out of control. The escalations are so extreme and petty you can't help but laugh or gasp in shocked silence. They are two troubled souls entwined. In another life, or maybe simply by talking to each other, they could be kindred spirits. But they enrage each other so much, they end up sabotaging themselves every time they come close to achieving success or happiness. Broken people hurt people and need people.

The supporting cast is fantastic too. While the show features a plethora of Asian American characters, the show isn't really about being Asian. It even features culturally specific notes while not focusing on them as plot point, with the one exception of the Korean church. OK maybe also about Asians being bad at driving. But it's kind of refreshing to see Asians being temperamental, not just passive. Western therapy doesn't work on Eastern minds lol

The King and I (Broadway) (2015)

This is a phenomenal revival of Rodger and Hammerstein's beloved play. Let me start with the costumes. They are gorgeous--both the colorful Siamese garb and Anna's enormous dresses. The costumes along with the set transport the audience to another world. The stage goes very deep back and the center portion of the stage moves out above the pit for full view of the audience. The large green curtain is very regal in between murals of the Siamese statues. The play opens with Anna arriving to Siam via a large ship. It is gigantic and the angles are diagonal to give the ship perspective as it moves out of profile into the audience. It is an epic start to a play of epic proportions. This includes a grand Buddha statue, large shear curtains, and tall moving columns. And of course, the immense cast.

The company does not have too many singing roles, just two numbers. But they present a choreographic challenge in giving everyone something to do on stage. Much of their time is spent kowtowing to the king to simplify this. The size of the company provides lots of roles for Asian actors, which is very welcome in musical theater. This is an important show for providing visibility to Asian actors--I noticed a lot of Filipino, Japanese and Korean names in the Playbill.  However, that is not to overlook the low-key racism present in the play's depiction of the Siamese. The accents are quite exaggerated (Ken Watanabe is a little difficult to understand, but I chalked it off to character and he is always very excitable but he's a stressed out king). And the depiction of their worship of Buddha may or may not be accurate for 1800s Siam, but it seemed a little extreme. But the cast breathes new life into this somewhat outdated play.

The young children are adorable and hilarious. The company puts on a dazzling play within a play, a mesmerizing balletic version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." And Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang has a lovely pure voice. The individual performers were really allowed to shine as most of the songs are relatively simple solos, and a couple of duets. Only two numbers involved the whole company. This especially let Kelli O'Hara bask in the spotlight. She is incredible. She has the most brilliant voice and in the non-singing scenes she is also a first-rate actress. I adore her renditions of "Hello, Young Lovers" and "Shall We Dance".