We already have a king. Some people feel we need a new one. Why not Kristina Wong? She’s nice. She’s funny. And she’s handy with a pandemic. When COVID-19 hit us with our proverbial pants down, she stepped into the breech, making face masks and using the radical route of the United States Postal Service to send them to vulnerable people. At the time, that included us. So, thank you.
She made us laff as an emcee at a wonderful tribute event at the UCLA Dance Department. (She is an alum.) Who is this funny lady, we wondered. Kristina Wong, we learned.
Ms. Wong is an actual elected representative of Koreatown, Los Angeles. But before she created a raucous show about her current stint in public office, she was a scrappy performance artist with a bright future in reality television. The system she used to ridicule is now the one she’s become. Is she more effective as a performance artist or a politician?
Kristina Wong for Public Office is a comedic performance co-presented in Los Angeles by The Broad Stage and Center Theater Group, that crosses the aesthetics of campaign rallies, church revivals and solo theatre shows to tell the story of what it means to run for local office, the history of voting and the impact artists can have on democracy.
It’s exclusive. It’s on line. It’s on demand. It’s on video. It’s digital, it’s smidgeable. We’re warned that the show runs 75 minutes, which feels long by double. But then we are told that it’s pausable; it’s stoppable. Here’s hoping it is laffable.
Kristina Wong for Public Office | performed live at the Kirk Douglas Theater and in your living room via Center Theatre Group’s Digital Stage +| starts Oct 30, tickets here soon