author Dmae Roberts

Reviews
Janie Bigo, by Dmae Roberts
NW Asian American Theatre
5/97

"What can I say about Janie Bigo?...it is a show that defies easy neat and tidy categorization. It is being billed as a "comedy, mystery, romance, thriller with music." Not only is the play's genre difficult to get a handle on, the characters are a diverse bunch who also do not fit in squarely into nice little boxes...

"All in all, though, Janie Bigo is full of fun and laughs."

Skin Towne, Asian Focus

"There are moments when a play comes together: subject, dialogue, humor, songs. acting, sets and costumes. And the experience leaves you charmed; indeed, changed because the magic of the play takes you to unexpected, thoughtful places. And so, my enthusiastic six- and nine-year-olds and I thoroughly enjoyed a preview of Northwest Asian American Theater's final production this season-so much so that we intend to return during its regular run from May I to June 1, 1997. You should plan to go, too.

"Janie Bigo by Dmae Roberts is a marvelous mix of comedy, mystery and romance -with snappy music, no less. The plot centers on Janie Nguyen, an orphaned AmerAsian who ends up in the US. searching for her GI father. Janie's rock 'n roll Girl-Group, the "Bigos," perform un-love songs as an antidote to the "drippy" songs on the airwaves. The love that evades Janie and the Bigos, Meryl and Donna Ma, creates an interesting tension between parody and yearning...

"Roberts' play works on so many levels. The parodies of women who look for love in all the wrong places raise questions about stereotypes and roles which are too easily assumed. Buck is an "un-hero" who finds his own way, defying the mythical Male Way of taking charge (think domination or conquest!).

"There are also rich metaphors of magic/magicians, friendships and family Any opportunity to rethink what it means to be Asian Pacific American is an important step in defining identity-rather than being defined- in the multicultural US. Roberts is definitely a writer to keep reading and looking for; this artist is also a radio producer and actress in Portland.

"Director/choreographer Susan diRende, the 1996 recipient of the Artist Trust/Washington State Fellow in Playwriting, brings out excellent individual and ensemble performances in "Janie Bigo." Janie and Buck are the most developed characters, and both Caroline Liem and Brian Kameoka give life and personality to these roles. Liem covers the range of rough, street smart and self-reliant to a vulnerable daughter seeking wholeness. Brian's asides, "... is this one of those moments?" are hilarious, yet so true. His magic tricks are good entertainment by themselves and his relationship with his mother is too funny for comfort."

Tracy Lai, International Examiner

" Janie Bigo, making its debut at the Northwest Asian American Theatre is a brightly-mismatched-pair-of socks kind of play.

"Billed as a "mystery, romance, comedy, thriller with music," it's the story of Janie Nguyen, a Vietnamese American orphan raised in Taiwan her rock-'n'-roll girl group, The Bigos, who sing "un-love" songs ("We don't get asked to sing much," Janie says. "People think we're too negative."); Buck Tanaka, a shy, aspiring JapaneseAmerican magician; and Guy, a bumbling would-be hit man.

"It's partly a girl-meets-boy story of Janie and Buck; partly a mystery (Why does Guy keep trying to bump off Janie?); and mostly a story of coming to terms with one's identity and discovering some simple truths under what appears to be a great deal of complexity. But the mix of different genres doesn't quite gel into a cohesive whole. The actors, who for the most part bring verve and freshness to their roles, sometimes seem as though they're in different plays....

"Delightful as they are, the show is stolen by Shirley Oliver, who plays Buck's Mary Kay cosmetics-hawking mother with warmhearted glee. Oliver's a pink-jogging-suited whirlwind who energizes the scene every time she's on stage...

"Roberts, an Amerasian Portland resident, received the Portland Drama Critics Circle award for Best Original Play of the 1995-96 season for her play "Picasso in the Back Seat." She received a 1990 George Foster Peabody award for her autobiographical radio .docu-play, "Mei Mei, A Daughter's Song."

"Here, Roberts has created a work with much promise: It's bursting with freshness and a welcome, lighter-hearted look at the search for roots and belonging. And it's got some zingy lines. If only the different pieces came together a hit more coherently, it would be a winning play indeed."

Janet I-Chin Tu, Seattle Times

"When the united States departed 'Vietnam in April 1975, we left behind housands of our own children. The Amerasian babies of U.S. servicemen and Vietnamese women were instant targets, and social outcasts, for the conquering North Vietnamese.

"Dmae Roberts' play Janie Bigo, at Northwest Asian American Theatre, purports to explore the life of one such child after she has grown to young adulthood. But the problem with Roberts' play is betrayed by its description: "a comedy, mystery, romance, thriller with music." Is there a genre overlooked here? Trying to be all of these things, Janie Bigo succeeds at none...

"Roberts, herself an Amerasian from a small Oregon town, barely breaks the surface of a topic that has resonance for people who think our country should be responsible for all of its children. But every time the playwright seems about to engage the issue of abandonment and loss, she waves a dramaturgic wand and makes it disappear.

"We'd like to believe that this is not the sort of magic Roberts originally had in mind."

Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, Seattle PI

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