'Jesa' Off-Broadway review — a compelling family drama that's both familiar and original
Read our review of Jesa off Broadway, written by Jeena Yi and directed by Mei Ann Tao at The Public Theater in a co-production with Ma-Yi Theater Company.
Summary
- Jesa follows four estranged Korean American sisters who reunite to perform a traditional ritual for their dead father
- The show excellently portrays family dysfunction even as it overloads its back half with plot reveals
- The play puts a uniquely Korean American perspective on the family-drama genre
- The show is recommended for fans of other family dramas like Death of a Salesman
There have been countless American family dramas — many endlessly revived — and Jenna Yi’s Jesa is a welcome addition to the genre. In addition to complex sibling relationships, it offers the cultural specificity of the Korean American experience rarely seen on stage. Yi’s take on the form is simultaneously comedic, touching, and a bit scary — and it effectively hits home.
A jesa is an annual Korean ceremony to honor dead relatives by offering them food, drink, and blessings. Traditionally done by sons, here it’s performed by four daughters. Jesa practices vary from family to family, and the play allows us to see how the sisters disagree on what they are supposed to do and in what order. None of them can really remember. They find an app to help, but their Korean isn’t good enough anymore to read along. Some simply want to skip parts and get it over with. Director Mei Ann Tao expertly stages the ceremony; it’s highly enjoyable watching the sisters bicker and roll their eyes through what is meant to be a solemn occasion.
Each sister performs the jesa uniquely, demonstrating how seriously (or not) they take the ritual and, in subtle gestures, how they feel about each of their deceased parents and about each other. Grace (Shannon Tyo) is our host and disciplinarian, eldest sister Tina (Tina Chilip) is the screw-up who drinks her way through it, Elizabeth (Laura Sohn) is malleable yet fiery, and Brenda (Christine Heesun Hwang) is the bratty, artistic youngest sister. All four actresses' performances feel lived-in and their family dynamic well-established. We learn who their mother was toughest on, who got away with whatever they wanted, who was their father’s favorite, and which siblings respect (or flout) hierarchical Korean family systems and titles.
The play only falters in its final portion, when the sisters’ fighting takes on new levels of unrealistically and inexpertly staged violence, supernatural elements arise, and a slew of dramatic reveals lose their effectiveness as they go on. These additions feel unnecessary when the sisters' relationships are already written with depth and nuance as they share competing memories about their childhood and how their parents (mis)treated them. Yi doesn’t give us answers; like the sisters, we have to reconcile their clashing accounts. What becomes clear is how the sisters have internalized the personality traits, parenting styles, prejudices, and problematic behaviors of their parents, be it alcoholism, perfectionism, intensity, or cruelty.
Although the play, like the ritual at its center, is rooted in one culture, it’s deeply relatable. Many cultures have similar mourning rituals, be it an anniversary memorial mass, sitting shiva, tomb sweeping days, or altar building. Jesa explores how parents linger after death — as thoughts, recipes, traditions, traumas, and spirits. Anyone with families they love and fight with will find resonance in this equally funny and emotional play.
Jesa summary
In Jesa, four sisters gather to perform an annual mourning ritual for their deceased parents. The ceremony brings up their often conflicted experiences of, memories about, and feelings toward their mother and father, and as the evening continues and tensions rise, each of the sisters exorcise various inner demons.
This world-premiere production is co-presented by the Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater, and it marks Jeena Yi’s playwriting debut.
What to expect at Jesa
You-Shin Chen’s set design places you inside Grace’s Orange County house (“the only Cape Cod-style house in four blocks,” she asserts multiple times), complete with a photo collage above the fireplaces, an open-concept living room/kitchen, a slanting suggestion of a gabled roof, and a spotless carpet. In keeping with Korean tradition, the characters take off their shoes (or are reminded to if they forget) when they enter the house. In a gesture that is equal parts logistical and fitting, the ushers alert audience members not to step on the carpet as they arrive. I almost wish we were instructed to take off our shoes.
Jesa runs 100 minutes with no intermission and deals with grief, loss, parental abuse, and homophobia. Things get heavy, intense, and often violent between the siblings.
What audiences are saying about Jesa
Audiences have shared mixed-to-positive responses to Jesa on Reddit and Mezzanine, particularly praising its portrayal of family dysfunction.
- “All the feels. Felt like it was my family.” - Mezzanine user Zach Senger
- Reddit user u/mightasedthat says “Jesa is worth seeing, the cast shows you lived-in sister dynamic with lots of tension and love.”
- “Good acting, some funny dialogue but overall play lacks drive and the reveal/conflict is kind of meh.” - Mezzanine user Marina Daiman
Who should see Jesa
- Anyone with a family who they love and fight with — specifically siblings who are there for you but also know how just to get on your nerves — will find Jesa relatable.
- Korean and Korean American people will find particular resonances with the play’s deep cultural specificity
- Fans of classic American family plays like Death of a Salesman (also on stage in NYC this spring) will enjoy the intricate relationships, intergenerational conflict, and sibling squabbles.
Learn more about Jesa off Broadway
At its core, Jesa is a compelling family drama that feels both familiar and original, showcasing a perspective rarely featured in American theatre.
Photo credit: Jesa off Broadway. (Photos by Joan Marcus)
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