By Mikaela STONE

A set of theater firsts celebrate Angelinos as plays “Pang Spa” and “Two Stop” open in the Atwater Village Theater.

The plays, both written by David Johann Kim about the 1992 LA riots, became the first two plays written by the same playwright to win the LA New Play Project Award when the selection committee could not agree which dramedy deserved the award more. The sister plays are currently playing beside one another, with the location-based Chalk Rep company putting on “Pang Spa” and the Ensemble Studio Theater LA performing “Two Stop.”

Crescenta Valley residents can appreciate another first – “Pang Spa” is the world premiere of local resident and actor Hahn Cho. Cho portrays aging father Tae Pang who is struggling with dementia alongside his wife, which is dredging up old trauma from the LA unrest 20 years ago, the Korean War and WWII. Tae Pang’s son Daniel, portrayed by Ben Carroll, left his acting career to take care of his parents, employing increasingly creative ways to keep his family happy.

In reference to his plays, David Johann Kim noted, “The riots happened and went away for most people but for some people it never did. It changed prosperous lives into desperate lives in the course of five days.”

With families and businesses destroyed and no help from first responders, following the riots the suicide rates in Koreatown were the highest in Los Angeles. Kim consolidated these threads of history in the creation of the Pang family and their community, living in a typical LA apartment complex. To keep the spirit of its location, scenic designer Justin Huen and the crew of “Pang Spa” dressed the theater as an apartment courtyard, complete with drain pipes on water damaged stucco and potted succulents resting on cinder blocks.

The relationship between “Pang Spa” and “Two Stop” is unique in that both plays share the same crew. Set in the same world as its sister play, “Two Stop” brings audience members directly into a Korean-owned convenience store on the night of the riots as three characters are forced by proximity to confront their history.

“Pang Spa” director Reena Dutt observed, “Everyone had some connection to the LA unrest.” She added that the parents of Maria Hong, the plays’ costume designer, had owned a similar store, giving Hong firsthand knowledge of the repercussions Koreatown faced.

Hahn Cho’s portrayal of Tae Pang brought “Pang Spa” comedy and deep emotion in equal measure. With a father around Tae Pang’s age, Cho felt he had the tools to bring the character to life, acting much of the play by bending his body to emulate a hip issue, allowing even the audience of a small venue to believe he was a much older man.

The casts of both shows brought a great deal of talent to the stage. Especially attention grabbing were the moments between Ben Carroll and Jasmine Kimiko, who plays a community newcomer with baggage of her own. Kimiko’s moving moments surrounding womanhood, expectations and circumstances outside one’s control made many audience members misty-eyed. She, too, felt seen by Kim’s words due to her quarter Asian heritage – a part of the Korean diaspora she had rarely seen discussed, once again reaffirming how much representation matters. Carroll, Kimiko and Cho all lauded the rehearsal process working with Kim and director Dutt. Cho summed up the experience as “nothing but positive energy.”

For Dutt’s part, the feeling is mutual. Her mission statement “is finding the right collaborators to tell the stories fairly and honestly.” She is a child of immigrants but not raised with a strong cultural background, leading her to relate to Kimiko’s character. A true believer in “the serendipity of theater and art,” Dutt chooses plays to work on based on the dreams they inspire.

Even in the midst of struggles and dreams not turning out the way they expect, the characters of “Pang Spa” and “Two Stop” have the communities and families they choose. Amid heartbreaking circumstances and forever changed lives, Kim couches in his dramedies a core of familial love with bonds born both of blood and choice.

To purchase tickets to “Pang Spa,” which continues until June 9, visit https://www.chalkrep.com/.

To purchase tickets to “Two Stop,” which continues until June 9, visit https://www.estlosangeles.org/two-stop-world-premiere.