Because sadly I was not able to see Asuncion, I have the alternate blog topic of comparing and contrasting the themes of immigrant experience in A View From The Bridge and Yellow Face. At first glance, I suppose these plays seem really different. One is about a famous playwright facing racism and hypocrisy in the theater world, and one is about the workings of an Italian family housing illegal immigrants. However because of the theme of immigrant life, the two share some ideas.

Both plays portrayed the hardships of immigrating, legally or not. Characters in both plays faced distrust from others because they were immigrants. In Yellow Face, Henry Hwang’s bank is investigated solely because he is Chinese. In A View From The Bridge, Eddie does not trust Rodolpho because he assumes that citizenship is his only goal. People just trying to lead normal lives are inhibited by their immigrant status.

On a more positive note, both plays also exhibit a beautiful sense of community. Hwang tries showing us the beauty of the Asian community through Marcus and his newfound status. Simply because he was “Asian” he found a place where he seemed to belong and acceptance from the people around him. Similarly in A View From The Bridge, Eddie and Beatrice take in Marco and Rodolpho simply because they’re family. Despite the fact that they have never met these men (clear by Marco’s “Are you my cousin?”), they feel compelled to help them. Because they are Italian, they welcome them with open arms into their home and into their Italian community in New York.

Both plays show us a little bit about being an immigrant in New York. Sure, one features a playwright and one has characters working on ships, but they really do share an important foundation.

It’s interesting to compare these two plays to everything else we’ve read and seen in this unit as well. There is a lot of art about immigrants, and so there is a lot of variation in the arts’ forms, methods, and messages. Each piece will resonate differently with each individual, and I think that’s what makes art so beautiful.

The closest thing I have to a picture with Jesse Eisenberg...

“Hey dude, why do you think Jesse Eisenberg produced a Spanish play?”

“I have no idea man. Asunción does mean assumption in English. Maybe it’s about a Spanish Jew who’s misunderstood?”

This conversation actually took place between a friend and I. We had no idea what the play was about, and so we used what we knew about the Spanish word “asunción” and Jesse Eisenberg being a white Jew. We’ve all been there, making judgements based on race and first impressions. In one way or another we’re all racist, whether it be subtle or apparent. We’re aware of many stereotypes and we all play on them. This is what Jesse Eisenberg wanted to show us when, in “Asunción,” Edgar, a rather submissive, ethnocentric man, has to house his brother’s fiance, a Filipino woman whom he knows nothing about, for a week.

The entire plot of Asunción made it the most hilarious play I’ve ever seen. Jesse had the crowd roaring with laughter every other minute, from the African bongo jam in the intro to the almost hard to watch, “near fellatio,” scene. What made the play so enjoyable to watch was the fact that it felt real. The dialogue was believable, as well the whole situation. Yet much of this real feeling came from the stage, which was very nicely set up. The stage was an apartment space that looked like it housed two not so well off individuals. Dirty dishes were piled up in the sink, the walls had funny color designs as well as a sort of worn look to it. All of those stage aspects meshed very well with the personalities of the play’s amusing duo, Edgar and Vinny.

Despite the large comedic atmosphere the play had, there were moments where the dialogue had the crowd in complete silence. Jesse Eisenberg was able to place dramatic moments in between the laughter to make us stop and think about what he was really trying to tell us. These scenes were key to helping us piece together everything that Jesse was showing us. This is what made Asunción an effective play. Like many satires, this one was basically Jesse holding up a mirror to society. He was able to show us society’s subtle racial profiling as well as the issue of ethnocentrism that is present here in America. For the most part, Edgar played the mirror that reflected our racism. He was a self-centered person who thought he knew everything and that he was superior to everyone including his very successful brother (Although Vinny comes up a plausible exception). In reality he had nothing and essentially blew up his very small experiences, going to Cambodia for two days (by accident!), and having a small part of his blog published. This kind of person was the perfect choice to portray Jesse’s message because Edgar is the kind of guy people want to punch in the face sometimes (or maybe a lot of the time). Showing Edgar combined with us not liking him (personality-wise, otherwise his scenes were hilarious), is a perfect point to make. It shows that we are blind to our racism, and that we should be more conscious of it so we don’t make the same horrible mistakes as Edgar.

Overall, the play was fantastic. The stage was great, the plot was well written, the jokes hit the right notes, and the actors were phenomenal, and not to mention quite famous! I believe Jesse Eisenberg made a success with Asunción. Despite the hilarity his message was clear, and that makes me appreciate his whole production so much more.

I never expected Asuncion to be as great as I thought it would be. From the title I honestly thought it was going to be another Spanish play and I was excited for it. When we sat in our seats I saw the set and immediately realized that this was not going to be what I expected at all. It surprised me and that wasn’t a bad thing at all.

If I had to recommend a theater performance to anyone it would be this one. It was a hilarious ride that was all brought together by the fast paced script, the awesome performance from actors Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha, and the cool hipster apartment set that gave everything more meaning. I have to stop and talk about the set that really engaged me towards learning more about the characters that live there. It was a small compact stage with a very realistic depiction of a New York apartment with a small kitchen and living room that seemed to fit everything that was needed. There was the one couch with a coffee table, the stereo with a cd collection and a desk/music corner. In the kitchen the African poster stood out and it actually made me wonder about why it is there. We soon find out that its because Justin Bartha’s character Vinny teaches African studies. The set stands out a lot as I remember the play and I would actually want to live in an apartment like that.

Watching the play was like watching a television sitcom but it was our own private performance. Instead of the fake audience television laughs we actually laughed as an audience. This was a new feeling for me because I haven’t seen many comedic plays other than this and The Bald Soprano this one clearly being the better experience. Jesse Eisenberg took his comedy extremely seriously and it was awesome. His awkwardness in the way he portrayed Edgar and his introverted homosexuality developed as the story moved along. Eisenberg wrote his character to his own strengths and it made his character seem like him. Even off stage when we all saw him outside he seemed very awkward and did anyone notice that he never smiled? I don’t remember him smiling at all he was very hyper while cleaning the bathroom after his LSD trip but I still don’t remember him smiling. It was alright because it was really funny. His own personal style was memorable and I liked that he actually left the theater on a bike like Edgar would have.

I really liked how we all were able to discuss the play during the intermission as the first half left us wanting to know what happens next. It was exciting and at first I thought the play was over and I really didn’t want it to be. Luckily it was intermission and I knew from the first half already this play was going to be one of the best things we see this semester. The second half surprised me again because that’s where all the action was. The best joke out of all that I am going to remember is when Edgars brother comes back to their apartment and says something along the lines of, “ This place is a mess, except for the bathroom which is spotless.” This play outshined the other plays we’ve seen in terms of story, acting, and overall enjoyment and that is what I will remember.