Finding Comedy in Unusual Places

Humorous and entertaining in spite of its uneasy topic, “Miss Kim,” a part of Fringe NYC 2011, is a play based on a true story of a woman molested by her uncle when she was eight and raped by a creepy homeless man with a long knife when she was 21. Revealing how difficult it was to say good-bye to her past miseries and live through several failed suicide attempts, the playwright Gina Kim shows us a brilliant example of how to find hope and prevent the past from affecting our future.

Deep in thought, empowered by a positive message in extremely negative circumstances, the play would have been very successful if it wasn’t repetitive at times.

The greatest advantage of the play is its humor, which shows that you can always try to make yourself feel better if you look for something funny in every situation. For instance, there was the scene of a date rape, in which Miss Kim (Gina Kim and Cristy Candler) tries to stop the man from having sex with her. Having realized that it wasn’t working, she ironically says, “If you are doing this, can you put a condom, at least?”

There is no need to say that the play would not be so humorous without outstanding actors, who transformed into multiple characters throughout the play. Even though all actors did a good job, Tessa Faye, who played Kim’s mother with a not quite Korean accent, a mean girl from a sexual abuse seminar, a lesbian from a party and many more dissimilar roles, was the most memorable. She seemed to be naturally funny in every movement, even when portraying anger.

Speaking about actors, why was it necessary to have Miss Kim played by two women? This is a puzzle the audience probably should not bother to solve. Even though it is an original and innovative idea, it seems a bit distracting for the viewers, who watch one person acting and another one speaking.

Another moment that was a bit out-of-place was coming back to Kim’s uncle, how he violated her and remained unpunished. Even though it is understandable that once a woman or a girl is sexually abused, she will mentally return to that moment again and again, but here in this play there were a bit too many flashbacks recalling the same episode.

In addition to that, all men in the play were shown as lusty animals, as though the only thing they ever want is sex. Every date Miss Kim went on ended with a guy holding his zipper, ready for action. The only exception was a Russian guy because he failed to be funny and left before the deciding moment.

The question is: should the men that watch the play see how selfish and horny they may be at moments and try to restrain themselves or should the women get the same message many of them get from childhood, which is “all men want is sex; once you give it to them, they don’t need you anymore?” Is it fair to give those messages to both men and women?

What has to be appraised, though, is the fact that being a Korean American, Kim made her play very Korean. As we can understand, the main thing a Korean woman is expected to do is to get married. If a young girl is known to be raped, no one will want her as a wife. Therefore, people tend to minimize the gossips. It influences women negatively because they are not allowed to share their pain; they are completely ignored and perceived as a machine for making babies and taking care of a husband. Growing up as an American, Kim struggles with it in the play, as she yells at the doctor examining her, “I told you, I wasn’t mugged. I was raped.”

With its advantages and shortcomings, “Miss Kim” is a performance that will leave you with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it deals with delicate topics that have to be brought to public attention. On the other hand, it is way too personal and includes some moments that might have been omitted. But to make a long story short, you will probably enjoy the play a lot, as it brings in catharsis and entertains you, making you wish at the same time that the end would match the beginning and do not go to a further discussion of “if they get it or not.”