As hard as I fell for Kim’s Convenience when I streamed the Canadian sitcom on Netflix a couple of years back, I was unprepared for how head over heels I would be for its inspiration, Ins Choi’s 2011 feel-amazing stage gem now paying a visit to the Ahmanson.

Both play and TV series focus on a mom-and-pop store located in the ethnically diverse Toronto neighborhood of Regents Park and run by Korean immigrants Mr. Kim (Choi) and Mrs. Kim (Esther Chung), with unpaid labor provided since childhood by their 30-year-old aspiring photographer daughter Janet (Kelly Seo).

Noticeably out of the picture is older sibling Jung (Ryan Jinn), who has spent the last 16 of his 32 years incommunicado from his “Appa” (though not entirely from his “Umma”) for reasons that will become clear over the course of Kim’s Convenience’s captivating ninety minutes.

If the hit TV series shared the wealth among not only the four Kims but also among the myriad multi-ethnic customers frequenting their corner store and Jung’s coworkers at a local car rental agency, Choi’s original play focuses mainly on Appa and Janet and the problems that arrive when an offspring’s hopes and dreams fail to coincide with the hopes and dreams of a father for his beloved but rebellious child.

That’s not to say that we don’t get to meet a handful of Kim’s Convenience customers, all of them played to perfection by Black Canadian actor Brandon McKnight.

There’s Rich, whom Appa educates about Korea’s thorny relationship with Japan; Mike, a Jamaican immigrant whom Appa deems a potential thief based on “survival skills” honed while running his store and certainly not on racism; and Mr. Lee (aka “My Black friend with Korean name”), who makes Mr. Kim an offer he shouldn’t be able to refuse.

Yes, things do get tied up rather neatly in a pair of bows over the course of what appears to be a single day (or maybe two), but who’s complaining when a play is filled with so much joy and hope and love?

Certainly not I.

And it’s not just its “feel-goodness” that makes Kim’s Convenience a must-see in times as turbulent and troubled as these.

The political statement it makes about immigrant contributions to Canadian (and by extension American) society without ever making an obvious “statement” makes it as stealthily political as it is crowd-pleasingly escapist.

Director Weyni Mengesha never lets Choi’s colorful characters turn into caricatures, which in a lesser director’s hands they just might become.

Playwright Choi graduates from the role of Jung, which he originated, to that of the Kim family patriarch, who over the course of an hour and a half, learns as many life lessons as the ones he is only too willing to impart, and what a dazzling star turn this is.

The luminous Seo gives as good as she gets opposite her magnificent scene partner, and the sparks ignited between Janet and the dashing McKnight as Officer Alex are about as palpable as romantic/sexual sparks get.

Chung’s Umma is as warm as she is wonderful, and having scenes between her and Choi’s Appa played in the Kims’ native language minus supertitles is a nifty, realistic touch.

Last but not least, the handsome and talented Jinn may make only two eleventh-hour appearances as Jung, but they are two of the play’s best, and the ones mostly like to bring tears to audiences eyes in the best kind of way.

Kim’s Convenience fills the Ahmanson proscenium with the most minutely detailed corner store you’ve ever seen come to life on stage thanks to set designer Joanna Yu, with lighting designer Wen-Ling Li, costume designer Ming Wong, video and projection designer Nicole Eun-Ju Bell, and sound designer-composer Fan Zhang only adding to the magic.

Frank Chung, Ngabo Nabea, Rosie Simon, and James Yi are understudies.

Aaron Jan is assistant director. David S. Franklin is production stage manager and Angela Mae Bago and Michelle Blair are assistant stage managers. Becca Trimbur is company manager and Cath Bates is production manager.

It’s been far too long since a play has filled me with as much comfort and joy as Kim’s Convenience. Anyone in need of laughter (and a great big theatrical hug) should make immediate plans to pay this mom-and-pop store a much-needed visit.

Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles.
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

–Steven Stanley
March 24, 2026
Photos: Dahlia Katz

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Tags: Ahmanson Theatre, Center Theater Group, Ins Choi, Los Angeles Theater Review