San Francisco Playhouse’s “My Home on The Moon” Is an Epic Sci-Fi Journey!
by Darlene Jurow
Minna Lee’s “My Home on The Moon”, currently playing through February 24 at the San Francisco Playhouse (450 Post Street), is both creative and thought-provoking, as it captures an epic sci-fi journey into the metaverse. It explores how we are on the threshold of allowing artificial intelligence to create a reality for us that captivates the expected, the unexpected and the dreams of tomorrow.
This sci-fi production centers on a struggling Vietnamese pho restaurant that appears on the brink of closing amid vast neighborhood changes. Then a mysterious marketing consultant steps in and suddenly things dramatically change as they are not all as they seem as the restaurant’s owner Pho Lan and her chef Mai discover artificial intelligence-powered simulations may be taking over, blurring the line between metaverse and reality.
One of the interesting aspects of the performance is its interactivity. Audience members become customers when Lan and Mai work in the restaurant. Later, they become corporate presentation viewers as Gigi conducts a data testing debrief and food is actually cooked live on stage, making the restaurant feel active and real.
The scenic design (Tanya Orellana), lighting (Michael Oesch), costumes (Kathleen Qiu) and staging (Ada May) are all done masterfully, as is the acting by a talented cast of young artists, including Sharon Omi (Lan), Jenny Nguyen Nelson (Mai) both of whom shine bright in their roles, and Rinabeth Apostol (Vera) who portrays her robotic role in a very convincing manner.
Will Dao (Beau, Food Critic, Lion Dancer, Chef 2) and Erin Mei-Ling Stuart (Gigi, Camera Person, Lion Dancer, Chef 1) play multiple parts and bring to life each character. Dao takes on a larger-than-life personality as the boisterous and eccentric Food Critic, but then effortlessly switches to a caring, concerned friend when playing Beau. Stuart holds the command of a powerful CEO, but then transfers to portray the role of a mindless follower when playing the Food Critic’s Camera Person. Each of these actors embodies each of their roles with such clarity that it is hard to imagine that each part is being played by the same person.
This original play by Minna Lee poses a personal choice: do we accept the reality of our dreams, knowing it is just that… dreams, or choose the reality of our destiny, with all the good, bad and unknown it has to offer?
Would one expect those of an older generation who have experienced a reality with all its harshness and cruelty to say: “Enough is enough. I choose to be safe and happy even if it is only in my own mind”? In this performance, Al offers this option. Is it expected of the younger generation to opt out of a perfect dream-like existence in order to experience the reality of good and bad of their own unknown destiny?
“My Home on The Moon” puts Al on trial with comedy, tradition culture, food, and, yes, even magic. This thought-provoking play begs the question: Who makes the choices as to how we live? Artificial Intelligence is at our doorstep. Dare we open the door?
For tickets or more information please phone (415) 677-9596 or visit www.sfplayhouse.org.
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Photo caption: Lan (Sharon Omi - center) celebrates the new year with lion dancers (left - Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, right- Will Dao) in San Francisco Playhouse's World Premiere Play "My Home on the Moon," performing through February 24. (Photo Credit: Jessica Palopoli)