LA Times: Golden Hour for spiritual quests

Few topics in the theater are trickier to bring off than spiritual queries. That makes The Golden Hour at GTC Burbank unusually noteworthy. Philip W. Chung's piquant account of challenged faith within the Korean American community receives a proficient Lodestone Theatre Ensemble staging.

It follows Laura Park (the excellent Linda Shing), a Los Angeles paralegal who reexamines her beliefs when, after rejecting would-be fiance Stephen (Ryun Yu), she has a traffic accident and a near-death experience. While psychically hearing various thoughts of bystanders and drivers, Laura notes one stranger who prays for her well being.

After recovering, Laura tracks down the supplicant, Hee-Sun Park (Saachiko), a grieving mother and the pivot of Golden Hour's narrative. The relationship between the two unrelated Parks eventually incorporates Caroline (Rachel Morihiro), Laura's wild-card sister, and Pastor Dustin (Eddie Shin), whose sermons on Job carry playwright Chung's subtext.

Chung could lose some extraneous details and sitcom jokes (though they are often very funny). Furthermore, the news reports of various tragedies voiced by Rob Fukuzaki point toward a larger work than this intimate character study. Yet Golden Hour succeeds through its core integrity, which director Jeff Liu and company locate with easy warmth that offsets teleplay tactics.

Designs are simple and effective, especially Mina Kinukawa's set and Christopher M. Singleton's lighting, and the ensemble is solid.

Shing nails Laura's every beat, from opening account to final enigmatic gaze. Her colleagues respond accordingly, which sustains our interest in this unaffected treatise on the mysteries of divine intervention.

-- David C. Nichols