Meads Reads

In this book club for plays, Director of Dramaturgy and New Work Joy Meads hosts a lively conversation about an irresistibly rich dramatic text. After reading the same play, the group will gather on Zoom to dig into its juicy layers of meaning.

Each play we will partner with small publishers, local booksellers, and individual playwrights to make scripts available.

Vietgone

You definitely don’t need to have seen or read Vietgone to enjoy its sequel, Poor Yella Rednecks—Qui’s ingenious construction makes space for audiences to independently experience and enjoy these first two parts of his exuberant autobiographical trilogy. That said, Vietgone is simply a great ride: it tracks the first moments of the playful, provocative, singularly hilarious romance between Tong and Quang, two refugees from Vietnam embarking on a new life in the U.S. I’m excited to hear your thoughts on Qui’s use of satire and caricature, his irreverent mashup of genres, and this utterly human, yet superheroic, portrayal of his parents. 

For an even deeper dive into the world of these plays, check out our short interview with Qui and article about Vietnamese representation in theater from our 2018 production of Vietgone (like Poor Yella Rednecks, directed by the marvelous Jaime Castañeda, interviewed here).