author: Chris Pence
Perpetual Guests in Foreign Lands: From East, Like The Sun at Rapid Lemon Productions
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Written in 1883, Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus has welcomed immigrants into The United States since being mounted inside the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening The World) since 1903. From its inception, The United States has stood as a guiding light for disenfranchised immigrants, though, in practice, has left much to be desired in their treatment and acceptance. Playwright Karen Li examines the generational, cultural, and social divisions of immigration in America through From East, Like The Sun, currently making its world premiere at Rapid Lemon Productions.
From East, Like The Sun follows a mixed family through separation, confusion, and redemption as they each try to discover exactly who they are. Sammy and Ellis, a young Chinese American boy and his best friend, trek into the woods, unbeknownst to their parents, for a weekend camping trip. Fed up with his parents’ separation, Sammy has decided to make a run for it. Suddenly, a Guiding Light from the past appears, in the form of Chao Yi, a 19th century ghost, who leads the boys on a journey through the woods and into the past, revealing a historical treasure trove that promises to change the community as the families know it.
Director Jalice Ortiz-Corral, who is good friends with Li, carries the playwright’s blessing as she leads an irreplaceable cast in telling Li’s story. Through great care and dedication, Ortiz-Corral creates from Li’s script an engaging, provocative production that reminds audiences to be aware of their own roots. Set Designer Steve Sawicki chooses a forest motif, with ever-present burlap trees, papier mache rocks, and a small platform for when Ellis decides to follow the mysterious Guiding Light up a tree. The only hitch in this design is early on, when the boys set up a tent, which was a little distracting during a scene transition. Otherwise, Sawicki’s woodsy design offers both a literal and figurative forest for the characters to navigate as they search for unknown treasure, each other, and ultimately, themselves. Lighting Designer Martin Sundiata adds an autumnal atmosphere to most scenes, signaling the twilight of life as the characters know it. When Chao Yi speaks, Sundiata elicits an ethereal feeling, with mystical lighting, and green stars throughout the auditorium, surrounding the audience in Chao Yi’s narration. Sound Designer Max Garner selects mostly light, traditional Chinese music to accompany the scenes, never overpowering the actors, and setting the mood for inspiration and personal enlightenment.
Leading off the production is the supernatural presence of Chao Yi (Eric Christian Panuela). A 19th century immigrant, Chao Yi serves as Sammy’s otherworldly guardian, protecting and teaching Sammy and Ellis through a Guardian Light. Panuela’s delivery is flawless, a patient ancestor who yearns to share his own story through the boys. As Chao Yi, Panuela offers a flowing, almost musical delivery of Chao Yi’s Chinese creation story at curtain rise. He also shares knowledge and practices of old-world China with the boys, as well as the audience, even sharing the story of Zuo Zongtang, a real 19th-century Qing Dynasty military leader and namesake of General Tso’s chicken. Panuela’s Caho Yi bridges the generational gap between 19th century Chinese immigrants, to Sammy’s parents, to Sammy himself, examining the turbulent past, as well as history’s tendency to repeat itself, especially in regard to its treatment of cultural newcomers. He also teaches that patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to history.
As Chinese American teenager Sammy, Daniel Lin gives the performance of a lifetime, blurring emotional lines to present an understandable adolescent at one of the hardest periods of his life. On an impromptu camping trip, Sammy and his best friend Ellis (Caleb Madison), a young Black teen, share an unbreakable bond of friendship and brotherhood, with Lin and Madison portraying the two young men as typical teenagers, rowdy, goofy, and rather superstitious. The comedic timing of the duo is superb, leaving the audience in stitches as the friends share scary stories, argue about perceived curses, and work together to follow Chao Yi’s Guiding Light. Madison’s Ellis even goes out on a limb for Sammy (literally), searching for Chao Yi’s elusive secrets. Ellis then finds short-lived friendship with a honeybee, saying that he eats the bee’s life’s work for breakfast, leaving the audience bursting out in laughter. Though their comedy is infectious, Lin and Madison are equally as sufficient at producing drama between Sammy and Ellis. Later in the show, Sammy reveals that he hasn’t told their parents about the trip, feeling the need to run away from his feuding parents, who seem to have little time for him. Despite Sammy’s woes, Ellis demands Sammy’s allegiance, concerned that he’s going to lose his best friend. Funny and powerful, Lin and Madison give masterful reality to the two teenagers, and skillfully define the characters’ generation, as well as their place in the story.
Sammy’s parents, Charlie (Tevis Tsai) and Lake (M. Eden Walker), are two people fighting for a happy life, though not in the same way. A mixed-race couple living in San Francisco, the two have been struggling to keep their marriage together amid cultural, class, and racial issues in their community. Lake, Sammy’s mother, worries about the couple’s place in the community, fearing that she will lose her childhood home due to their financial status and immigration status. Charlie, on the other hand, sees the loss as inevitable, and is more upset about his culture’s views on divorce and broken homes. Together, Walker and Tsai represent to trials of immigrant families trying to survive in a world that still looks down on them. Walker presents Lake with a dedication toward ending social injustice, almost to the point of denying her own family, in order to shield others from such injustices. Tsai as Charlie, however, gives the audience a glimpse into the life of someone who has given up the fight, exhausted to the point of accepting the inequality as the way things are. Though the marriage may be on the rocks, Lake and Charlie’s dedication to their son is unshakable, leading them into the woods, desperately trying to find Sammy. Wallker and Tsai bring heartbreaking realization to their prospective characters, showing that just surviving is sometimes the hardest battle.
Ellis’ mom, Roslin (Kay-Megan Washington), is the definition of forgetting one’s roots. Roslin, a rich Black woman, has “gone full suburbia,” according to Lake. A member of the community’s HOA, Roslin is quick to blame Charlie’s roots and financial status when she discovers that Ellis and Sammy have gone missing. Sassy and oblivious, Washington’s Roslin seems to be shielding herself from her own past, a Black woman who has had to endure many of the same issues as Charlie’s family. When Roslin’s connections in the local government fail to assist in finding Sammy and Ellis, Roslin is finally brought back to earth to remember her own past. During a heartwarming scene late in the performance, Roslin shares with Sammy her understanding of his concerns with his parents and assures him that she will always be available to care for him. Washington teaches through Roslin that personal change is inevitable, and that one must be in tune with their history in order to become a positive influence on the future generation.
Humorous and heartfelt, eye-opening and reaffirming, Karen Li’s From East, Like The Sun is a breathtaking reminder that the past is always present, and that the future will never be closer than it is today. Here’s to a great many more productions, and many more audiences that will never forget Li’s message. The world premiere of Karen Li’s From East, Like The Sun runs January 9 – 25, 2026 at Rapid Lemon Productions.
Running Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission
From East, Like the Sun plays through January 25th 2025 a Rapid Lemon Productions show in residence at The Strand Theater— 5426 Harford Road in Baltimore, MD. Tickets are available at the door but advanced reservations are strongly encouraged and can be purchased here online.
Parents should note that the production includes some infrequent adult language, and is recommended for theatregoers thirteen and up.
