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I last reviewed Sex in Seattle in June 2006 (Episode 13: "Risking It All for Love"), and I could pretty much take all the words I wrote then and put them in a jar with a mysterious pregnancy and a Barry White dance number and some Cheetos (eaten with chopsticks) and shake the jar and make them fight and out would come a perfectly serviceable review of Sex in Seattle Episode 17: Coming Clean. Because not much has changed.
But that's how the Sex in Seattle audience likes it—Sex in Seattle Productions, which aims to both "portray contemporary Asian Americans in a truer light" and "believably address and explore the issues of womanhood," has been staging this populist comedic soap opera since 2001, establishing a fan base of earnest devotees. Their excitement at absorbing one more hour of information about Jenna's unknown babydaddy and Elizabeth's Chinese-only dating policy was palpable—a level of enthusiasm and community that you rarely feel at live theater. People. Are. PUMPED.
Stranger Personals
Watching Sex in Seattle feels—and this is surely what they're going for—more like watching television than theater: If television were a social experience, home-grown in your neighborhood, happening live in front of you, and grappling (gently) with issues that affect your underserved and stereotyped demographic. (And also kind of sucky and boring at times.) It's a canny setup, and you can't help but like them for it, even if the production itself is less than fascinating.
Sex in Seattle would benefit (especially with nonbelievers)
from sinking its teeth a bit deeper into the issues it skirts. There is
much "I've never really been with an Asian guy" and "If I were Asian,
would it make a difference?" and "Have you ever dated someone who
didn't look like you?" (the comeback there, "I should hope so!" was the
show's biggest laugh), but very little follow-through. The characters
just shake their heads and shrug and jump to the next cliffhanger,
which will be resolved, they tell us, in September of 2010. The
audience groans and weeps. 
Isn't that what more theatre should be create?
Having been a long-time fan of the show and finding it quite easy to convert numerous friends into fans, too, I'm willing to bet the reviewer isn't Asian American or a person of color. Because they don't seem to get why the show resonates so deeply for those of us who are Asian American. Maybe the reason we're so pumped about the show and wait with anticipation for each new episode is because there isn't anything else like the show on stage, TV, film, the web or anywhere. It's easy for others to take for granted the fact that they always get to see themselves and those who look like them represented everywhere. But for Asian Americans this simply isn't true, except for onstage watching our favorite show - Sex in Seattle.
Maybe it's also refreshing for us to see a show about Asian Americans that isn't trying to be what non-Asian Americans expect it to be. As Asian Americans people always expect things from us - we're supposed to be model minorities, we're supposed to be doctors or engineers, do well in math. That people expect our art to have to explore our Asian American identity or make some political statement. But maybe we just want to sometimes see Asian Americans dealing with every day life and relationships, have a chance to laugh at the shoe being on the other foot (how often do we get to see the Asian American women be the dominant one in the relationship, or the Asian American guy as the leading man with the white guy as his sidekick? Usually it's always the other way around.) Maybe we enjoy the show so much because the humor comes from these subtle shifts of perception that some mainstream reviewers don't quite get.
For me, a show that's fun & contemporary, one that my boyfriend actually loves going to as much as I do, and portrays relationship issues that my friends and I totally identify with, I think that's a great thing. A bunch of us catch every episode and the best thing about the show? We all have a great time and lots of conversation afterwards about themes brought up in the show. I wish more theatre did that for me.
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