THE NAME JAR at Stages Theatre Company in collaboration with Theater Mu is a wonderful celebration of family and importance of your culture and name. Based on the book by Yangsook Choi and adapted for the stage by Susan H. Pak, THE NAME JAR runs through April 14th.
I attended last week with my Mom and favorite little theatre goer, my niece Penelope. She loved getting a chance to write her name (or making Auntie do it) and add it to the name jar in the lobby- these types of simple pre-show activities are GREAT for her age. The show runs about 45 minutes which was perfect for her and sitting eagerly in the front row kept her attention. Her favorite parts were the interactions/call and responses with the cast, the changing projections, and meeting the cast after the show.
I got the chance to chat with Vivian Nielson, a 9th grader from St. Louis Park who plays Unhei. This is her 7th production with Stages Theatre Company (STC) with previous credits including Stuart Little, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical, Once On This Island JR., Disney’s Descendants: The Musical, Spookley The Square Pumpkin, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast JR. She is excited to be making her Theater Mu debut!
“The first time I auditioned was because I’d seen the shows at Stages and I looked up to the actors on stage. Thought it would be a fun opportunity” said Nielson and after auditioning she read the book THE NAME JAR to learn more about the story. “This show is a great way to show the Korean Heritage and importance of expressing yourself through your culture”
“The story focuses on Unhei getting comfortable in a new setting at school and adjusting in general. It’s called The Name Jar because when Unhei first comes to school the kids mispronounce her name, even though they are really trying to get it right, and she gets worried it would be a burden for them to learn it. Instead she lies and tells the kids she doesn’t have a name, so her classmates decide to create a name jar to help pick one.” The overall lesson she wants people to leave with is that “your culture and your name are really important, never leave that behind because of a bad experience you had.”
Following each performance the cast lines up for autographs and to say hello as you make your way out the door. A favorite memory so far has been when someone asked if she knew Korean before the show, which she didn’t, and complimenting her on how well she did. “We had a language coach come in a few times and make some recording for the Korean to help with all the pronunciations, felt nice to hear I was doing a good job.” We loved getting a chance to do a “repeat after me” at moments throughout the show so we could learn along with her classmates in the show.
Vivian ended by saying “You should come see it because there are some real fun and funny moments, but also moments that are more sad and sincere . Everyone can connect to it some level.” All ticket holders of the Sunday, 4/14/24, 1pm performance are invited to attend a post-show talkback with Yangsook Choi, the author of The Name Jar, and playwright Susan H. Pak. Tickets are selling fast for the entire run, book yours today!
UP NEXT at STC is Matilda The Musical JR opening April 19th! UP NEXT for Theater Mu is Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters a co-production with History Theatre (fun fact Vivian’s cousin Morgan Kempton is in it as one of the Kim Loo Sisters!
Lettered in Theatre 