Maki Yi, Yoshie Bancroft, and Stephanie Wong (Photo: Chelsea Stuyt Photography)
Leah Nanako Winkler’s God Said This explores important experiences, but does so in annoyingly sentimental and on-the-nose ways. Fortunately, in this Pacific Theatre production, there are significant rewards in both the performances and physical production.
In the central story, Hiro has just returned from New York, where she lives, to Kentucky, where she grew up — because her mom Masako is undergoing chemotherapy for a particularly pernicious form of uterine cancer. Hiro has a serious hate on for her father James, a recovering alcoholic who abused Masako and their two daughters when the girls were growing up. Although the play’s resolution is a foregone conclusion, its central tension is about whether Hiro will be able to forgive her dad in time to make her mom happy.
