‘Kim’s Convenience’ stocks both humor and heart

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON – The play “Kim’s Convenience” is a lot like the items found in the play’s site, a store of the same name in downtown Toronto run by a Korean Canadian family.

It is, at times, sweet, or salty, especially when Mr. Kim, aka Appa, the proprietor of the store, is dealing with his son or daughter. There is also high energy throughout, much like the energy drinks Mr. Kim is constantly pushing on his customers.

“Kim’s Convenience” first debuted as a play at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2011, where it won two major awards. It was adapted into the TV sitcom originally presented on CBC, and beginning in 2018 internationally on Netflix, with the final season released in 2021. This current 90-minute theatrical production at the Calderwood Pavilion of the Boston Center for the Arts debuted in Toronto in February 2025, and playwright Ins Choi is performing the role of Appa that he originated.

Appa’s version of the Canadian dream is not an easy one. He has sacrificed for his family for many years, working long hours at the convenience store six days a week, with wife Umma (Esther Chung) filling in from time to time. Daughter Janet (Kelley Seo) is a photographer, 30 and still living at home, and wants nothing to do with the store and resents the little she does. Son Jung (Ryan Jinn), 32, a second-generation Korean Canadian, has been estranged from most of the family for years after a violent confrontation with his father, only speaking to Umma.

The neighborhood is being gentrified and when a developer named Mr. Lee (Brandon McKnight) makes a lucrative offer to buy the store, Appa faces the possibility of being able to retire with dignity.

Choi has described his work as a “love letter to first-generation immigrants” and many of the humorous moments stem from Appa’s still halting acquaintance with the English language, and the fact that he is a loose cannon on deck, veering hilariously from calling the cops on an illegally-parked Japanese car that morphs into an anti-Japan rant.

There are times when Kim’s edgy humor channels Archie Bunker, especially during an extended riff on “steal or no steal,” describing in detail which customers are likely to steal and involving the racial stereotyping of a Black customer. Choi’s skilled portrayal of the character, who has longtime relationships with many of his neighbors and customers, lessens the sting.

And there are lovely moments of family dynamics, too, especially when Umma makes one of her furtive reunions with Jung at her church, only to discover she has become a grandmother. Appa also “supervises” the courting process between Janet and a police officer named Mike (McKnight again), whom she had a huge crush on as a teen.

The cast is top-notch, with Seo’s Janet expertly portraying the achingly-large gulf between the generations, and her own hopes and dreams. Chung’s Umma is a warm presence, with most of her conversations with Appa in their native Korean. Jinn as Jung is the prodigal son and new father who wants to come in from the cold and may hold the key to his father’s dilemma about selling the store.

Perhaps because of Netflix and the TV show’s popularity during the pandemic, a large number of the attendees at a recent performance appeared to be well acquainted with the characters, with a warm overall reception.

Choi calls his work “my love letter to my Appa and Umma, and to all first-generation immigrants who end up making a foreign land, home.”

“Kim’s Convenience” offers among its many items in stock both humor and heart, both dished out in generous portions.

“Kim’s Convenience.” Adam Blanshay Productions presents the Soulpepper Theatre Company production in association with American Conservatory Theater. Directed by Weyni Mengesha. Set design by Joanna Yu. Costume design by Ming Wong. Lighting design by Wen-Ling Liao. Video and projection design Nicole Eun-Ju Bell. Sound design and original music by Fan Zhang. In the Calderwood Pavilion of the Boston Center for the Arts through Nov. 30. Huntingtontheatre.org.