Composer

Sound Designer

An all-American love story about two very new Americans. It’s 1975. Saigon has fallen. He’s lost his wife, she’s lost her fiancé, and home as they’ve known it will never be the same. But this isn’t a story about war: It’s a story about falling in love. Based on playwright Qui Nguyen’s family, Vietgone tells the partially true and endlessly entertaining tale of how his parents, Quang and Tong, met in a refugee relocation camp in Arkansas during the Vietnam War. They navigate their very new lives as very new Americans amidst family pressure, the challenges of migration and a culture full of motorcycles, cowboys, fast food and dreams. With irreverent humor, hip-hop and heightened theatrical storytelling, this original story reinvents the romantic comedy genre and captures your heart.

EPSG:4326

Vietgone

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

An all-American love story about two very new Americans. It’s 1975. Saigon has fallen. He lost his wife. She lost her fiancé. But now in a new land, they just might find each other. Part cross-country road trip, part romantic comedy, VIETGONE will take audiences on a journey through time to reexamine a pivotal moment in American history, and playwright Qui Nguyen gets up-close-and-personal to tell the story that led to the creation of...Qui Nguyen.

Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center

Qui Nguyen, the wildly inventive playwright (and screenwriter for Marvel and Disney) known for his use of pop culture, pop music and puppetry, reunites with his frequent director, May Adrales, for this funny, sexy and brash new play. A young Vietnamese family attempts to put down roots in Arkansas, a place as different from home as it gets. A mom and dad balance big hopes and low-wage jobs, as old flings threaten to pull them apart. It all makes for a bumpy road to the American dream. From the world of Nguyen’s Vietgone, with its comic book and action movie influences, comes a play that melds a deeply personal story with the playwright’s trademark, killer humor. The New York Times hails the writer’s work as “culturally savvy comedy,” and this production shows you why.

Poor Yella Rednecks

New York City Center

When Saigon falls in 1975, Quang and Tong, two Vietnamese refugees separated from their previous partners, have a sexy meet-cute in Arkansas that promptly becomes a no-strings-attached relationship to pass the time. Living in the land of “cheeseburgers, waffle fries and cholesterol” (aka America) proves to be an intoxicating adventure that leads Quang and Tong to question their futures, both together and in their new country. Part history play and part memoir, this whip-smart comedy is punctuated with flashbacks and bursts of rap songs, all while giving unabashed reflections on American culture and offering a human-centered view of the Vietnam War and its aftermath.

Shane Rettig

Composer, Sound Designer

Events

Past events

Apr 27 - Jun 2, 2024

Vietgone · Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Feb 29 - Mar 9, 2024

Vietgone · Oklahoma City Repertory Theater

About

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