Cambodian Rock Band, Kreeger Theatre, Arena Stage, Washington, DC
Abraham Kim, Joe Ngo, Brooke Ishibashi, Jane Lui, and Tim Liu in Cambodian Rock Band . Photo by Margot Schulman. If confronted with a world map with the countries’ outlines but no captions, I daresay the number of Americans who could correctly locate Cambodia would be miniscule. And even those who might locate it (especially those born after about 1968) probably have little idea what happened there or why it mattered then – and matters now. Cambodian Rock Band may well be the most unexpected and distinctive title in dramatic literature. But it is a perfect title for Lauren Yee’s challenging and thought-provoking work, now on stage in the Kreeger Theatre space at Arena Stage. Joe Ngo, Brooke Ishibashi, Abraham Kim, Jane Lui, and Tim Liu in Cambodian Rock Band . Photo by Margot Schulman. A multi-talented cast of six (all but two of whom play multiple roles) takes us back to the early 1970s. We learn that Cambodian capital Phnom Penh has a long-standing, thriving, vibrant music scene