Aubergine at Olney Theatre Center

Classically trained French chef Ray leaves his job behind to care for his dying father, a Korean immigrant. Ray's father never appreciated his son's culinary accomplishments, and therefore food painfully divides the two, even as it serves as the key to memory and identity for all the characters in this off-Broadway hit. As much as the language of food perplexes his father, the Korean language vexes Ray even more. He finds himself asking his estranged girlfriend for translation assistance when his non-English-speaking uncle arrives with a bag full of strange ingredients. This perceptive drama from award-winning writer Julia Cho (Big Love, Fringe) distills the flavors of rich characters and complicated yet intense relationships, serving up a life-affirming soup that soothes. Tony Nam stars as Ray in this Olney Theatre Center production of Aubergine.