Thoughts on Penuel: The Sammy Lee Story at Silk Road Rising

I did not even know who Sammy Lee was when I went to the staged Reading of Penuel: The Sammy Lee Story, and now I am ashamed that I didn’t know.  Sammy Lee is an American of Korean heritage who won international fame as an Olympic Gold Medalist in the 1948 Olympics.  He was also a decorated army soldier and acclaimed doctor and Olympic coach. Penuel: The Sammy Lee Story is written from the perspective of Sammy Lee; his character is the narrator of the story which takes place not in 1948, but shifts between Sammy’s childhood and 1992, when Sammy and his son watched the horror of the destruction of “Korea Town,” in the terrible Los Angeles riot.  

This play addresses racism from a new perspective, forcing the audience to realize racism goes beyond “Black” vs. “White.”  The truth is that people of other heritage are only mentioned as footnotes in racial struggles and this only adds to the pervasive and destructive problem of racism.  While that theme is important to this play, this piece is more focused on the dynamics of the father/son relationship.   The audience experiences Sammy’s struggle with his father as the two fight to claim Sammy’s future.  Sammy’s father is desperate to see Sammy enter medical school and earn the respect of America as a successful doctor.  Sammy himself wants to be an Olympic Champion.  And he is; but the audience participates in Sammy’s struggle to overcome his guilt when his father dies during his Diving Training and neither gets to see Sammy fulfill his Olympic Dream, nor his father’s wish that he become a doctor.  This guilt resurfaces in the story when Sammy’s son, Sammy Junior responds to the 1992 Los Angeles riots by announcing his desire to become a Los Angeles Police Officer.  Even though Sammy defied his own father to pursue his own dream to be an Olympic Athlete, as a father himself he cannot abide his son’s dream because it interferes with his desire as a father to protect his son and keep him safe.  With the help of his wife, Sammy is then able to see that his own father was trying to do the same for him. 

David Rhee, the writer consistently utilizes the Bible story of Jacob as a metaphor which runs throughout the piece.  It is Sammy Junior who points out to Sammy that the blessing of the father has a darker power.  It can be used as a device for control.  “Where does that leave us?” Sammy Junior says as he confronts his father.  “Broken and divided.”  Much like racism, which can leave a country broken and divided as demonstrated by 1992 riots in Los Angeles. 

Penuel: The Sammy Lee Story brings to the stage many important issues; but it is first and foremost a play with a universal theme of family dynamics.  This central theme I think would speak more to an adult audience.  While Sammy Lee is Christian and his faith is important to the character, the Jacob story is questioned with humor throughout the piece.  Should there be children included in the audience, parents with a conservative Christian background may feel the piece is inappropriate for younger audiences.  Also, the character of Coach Ryan, Sammy’s childhood coach, uses very strong language and racial slurs which would be difficult to alter for a younger audience as the character later explains to an older Sammy that he did so on purpose to better prepare Sammy for the racial discrimination he would have to face if he was to become an Olympic gold medalist. 

After the reading in a feedback session with the audience, the writer David Rhee admitted some concern he had for the time travel, and Bible Story fantasy pieces that were interspersed throughout the play.  Original drafts were given the criticism that it read more like a screen play.  A younger audience would appreciate the shifts in time perhaps more readily than an adult audience.  However one audience participant was adamant that Mr. Rhee keep the shifts, and have this piece remain designated for the stage.  “These [characters] are individual voices…it’s intimate,” she said.  Mr. Rhee absolutely accomplished an intimate piece.  The character of Sammy Lee and also his wife Roz directly engage the audience, including them in the journey of Sammy Lee’s Story.  That is often a device incorporated into theatre for younger audiences, but as an adult piece the audience is taken on Sammy’s journey with him.  The audience experiences Sammy’s perspective of racism and fatherhood in a uniquely intimate way. 

Daniel Rhee admitted that Penuel:  The Sammy Lee Story was his very first finished play.  He is continuing with his playwriting by attending New York University.  It his hope to continue to write plays with characters of Korean heritage.  I hope he will consider younger audiences in his works as he uses imaginative devices that younger audiences would love.  Penuel:  The Sammy Lee Story may not quite meet the limitations some parents need for their children.  However to consider that Penuel:  The Sammy Lee Story was his first work, prior to an advanced education on playwriting; Daniel Rhee is someone to watch, he has ideas that will appeal to audiences of all ages and all heritages.  I will await his next work rather impatiently.  I will say that I was moved by this play.  It stayed with me the next day.  It challenged me to think and was immensely entertaining.  I do not think I can sum up the power of Mr. Rhee’s work any better than actress Tanya Thai McBride who performed as Sammy's wife, Roz. “I’m hungry for this," she said; and so am I as are many others I think.

Penuel:  The Sammy Lee Story was presented by Silk Road Rising.  "Silk Road Rising creates live theatre and online videos that tell stories through primarily Asian American and Middle Eastern American lenses.  In representing communities that intersect and overlap, we advance a polycultural worldview."