It’s clear that playwright and actor Ins Choi has a large fan base in Toronto. Proof comes in ticket sales to Pacific Theatre’s production of his autobiographical Son of a Preacherman.
Due to heavy demand, the B.C.-based theatre company recently added six additional dates to its Toronto run. It means that Choi will now perform his innovative mix of short stories, poetry, and music at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church from October 1 to 18.
“Creating Son of a Preacherman was the most joyous artistic project I’ve been involved in,” Choi says in a Pacific Theatre news release. “When it was welcomed by the first audience at Pacific Theatre in Vancouver last year, it was a true slice of heaven. I’m so excited to be bringing this show to a larger audience across Canada. Can’t wait!”
Choi is perhaps best known as the playwright of Kim’s Convenience. He has also written and/or performed in many other shows over his lengthy theatrical career, including Subway Stations of the Cross, Alligator Pie, Bad Parent, and The Beats and the Breaks.
Last year, Choi spoke to the Toronto Spark in advance of the Pacific Theatre’s Vancouver production of Son of a Preacherman.
“It’s stories of my grandfather, who was a preacher in Korea, and stories of my dad—he was a preacher in Korea and then came to Toronto when I was one years old and planted a church in downtown Toronto,” Choi said at the time. “There are stories of growing up and some of the pressures. I would consider it a comedy, but there are some real heartfelt moments.”
Preacherman receives six Jessie nominations
He also noted similarities between his work as a theatre artist and his father’s vocation as a pastor.
“I watched my dad read books and then collect information, write a first draft of something like his sermon, and then edit the hell out of it,” Choi recalled. “I would hear him rehearse and then I would see him perform it in front of an audience. That’s exactly what I do.”
In Toronto, Choi will be joined on-stage by two musician-actors—Belinda Corpuz and Yunike Soedarmasto—to perform the playwright’s original songs. Pacific Theatre artistic director Kaitlin Williams is directing the production, which snared six Jessie Richardson Award nominations.
“I have known Ins Choi for many years and have long admired his ability to create work that is profound, funny, accessible, and deeply moving,” Williams says in the news release. “Even so, I was blown away by the response to the world premiere of Son of a Preacherman.
“Audiences were rapturous, and the production quickly sold out,” the director adds. “It’s the kind of hopeful, life-affirming theatre that people are craving right now. It feels like good medicine.”
Pacific Theatre will present Son of a Preacherman at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church (230 St. Clair Avenue West) from October 1 to 18. For tickets and more information, visit the Pacific Theatre website.
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