"Cambodian Rock Band" at Berkeley Rep

Berkeley Rep production photo by Lynn Lane

 Stop me if you've heard this one before: This is a show we saw in Ashland in 2019 (and really liked), so were looking forward to seeing it again in the Bay Area. Cambodian Rock Band is also by a local playwright, Lauren Yee, whose work we have seen at several theaters recently. So that all seems promising. Berkeley Rep has landed a number of shows from Ashland over the years, and this one was also workshopped at Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor program, so there is a lot of local history here.

The Play

There are sort of two parallel stories going in this play: one is the story of The Cyclos,  a rock band in Cambodia, disrupted by the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in 1975; the other the story of a Cambodian-American lawyer working in 2008 to prosecute one of the most notorious members of the Khmer Rouge for crimes against humanity.

Needless to say, any play that touches on the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodian history is going to be a bit grim, and this play doesn't shy away from that. It's a bit difficult to describe the intersections of the two story lines without a few spoilers. Let's just say artists and musicians didn't fare well under the Khmer Rouge regime, and trying to survive under a repressive regime can lead to extremely painful personal choices.

The Production

Also needless to say, there is a fairly limited number of actors who can also play instruments and sing and speak convincingly in Khmer, the language of Cambodia. So I shouldn't have been surprised when I recognized several actors from the 2019 OSF production. In fact, four of the six cast members were in that production (though we only saw three, as there was an understudy for the fourth).

In fact, the only change that makes a substantive difference in the play is the casting of local actor Francis Jue as Duch. Jue is a terrific actor, but his portrayal of Duch is rather odd, tending into a sort of playful prancing that diminishes the underlying threat he represents. I felt like this choice undercut the effectiveness of that character.

Joe Ngo shines in his portrayal of Chum (a role he originated, and has played in multiple productions). Moses Villarama, though, seems a bit bored with playing Ted/Leng. As much versatility as Ngo displays, Villarama seems to play all his roles as if they are the same. But overall the cast keeps the energy pretty high, the music is good, and the message of the play comes through clearly.

Bottom Line

I'm sort of torn: I think it's mostly a very effective production of a very good, very difficult play. On the other hand, it really feels like basically the same show we saw in Ashland. I kind of expected that there might have been some new development or some new takes from a different cast and director. But it's literally the same director, most of the same designers and musicians, and nearly the same cast.

So if you haven't seen it before, I'd say it's well worth seeing. If you've seen it elsewhere, there isn't really much new here. But the show runs through April 2nd, so you have more chances.