Henry Ong pays long overdue tribute to Qian Xuese, aka the “Father of Chinese Rocketry,” in Ascent, the much-missed playwright’s look back at not just one of the ugliest pages in American history but one with unmistakable parallels to today’s United States, brought to stunning life at the Skylight Theatre by director-dramaturg Diana Wyenn.

Qian (Trieu Tran) is a mere 24 years of age when he emigrates from China to the U.S. in 1935 on his way to M.I.T. where he’ll be pursuing advanced studies in aeronautics, a field he has chosen because “the sky’s the limit.”

Following his stay at M.I.T, Qian heads off to Cal Tech (“No more bitter-cold winters. Only sunshine!”) to work under the tutelage of Theodore Von Karman (Russell Edge), the preeminent giant in aeronautical circles.

Not long after that he is offered an opportunity too good to turn down, a U.S. government job as a consultant to the Pentagon in the development and construction of long-range missiles.

Less enthusiastic about this project is Qian’s fellow graduate student/friend Frank Malina (Jorge-Luis Pallo), who believes that their goal ought to be “traversing the universe to discover the wonders of outer space,” not spending “obscene amounts of money” to wage war against their fellow human beings.

This doesn’t stop Qian from giving his all to the war effort, however, and despite setbacks (e.g., not being able to buy a home due to racist real estate covenants), things continue to go swimmingly for Qian and his operatic soprano wife Jiang Ying (Iris Liu) until the post-war “Red Scare” sets in, Senator Joe McCarthy goes on the attack, and Qian finds himself under FBI surveillance (and eventual house arrest) for no other “crime” than having been born in a country that came under Communist rule fourteen years after he left it for a life in the U.S.

And guess who comes out the winner when all the dust is settled? Not the U.S., that’s for sure, because thanks to American paranoia (and dare I say stupidity), Qian ends up going down in history as the man who helped China develop ballistic missile programs directed at the country he once called his adoptive home.

It’s a story that deserves being told now more than ever, and with Ong’s script zigzagging through time and space, Wyenn’s highly theatrical staging suits Ascent to a T.

Tran’s commanding star turn takes Qian believably from eager, idealist youth to crisis-fraught middle age and beyond (the real Qian died in 2009 at the age of 97) in a role that never once has him leaving the Skylight stage.

Liu does lovely, passionate work as a woman who gave up her operatic dreams (Liu sings in a credible soprano) to face multiple adversities beside the man she loved.

Edge and Pallo ace the challenges of distinguishing between anywhere from 5 (Edge) to 11 (Pallo) roles each (from professors to ambassadors to Qian and Ying’s two children) via a variety of accents, postures, and attitudes.

Finally, I can’t help thinking that Ong would be oohing and aahing every bit as much as I did at the gorgeous production design Ascent has been given.

Like a telescope pointed towards the heavens, the backdrop of Randy Wong-Westbrooke’s inspired scenic design serves as a circular frame for Yuki Izumihara’s scene-setting and celestial projections, all of the above lit (as are Britany White’s myriad period props) to gorgeous, evocative effect by Joey Guthman, with John Zalewski’s sound design upping the play’s dramatic intensity every step of the way. (Only costume designer Mylette Nora loses points for the unattractive red-and-black number she’s got Ying wearing for far too much of the play.)

Ascent is produced by Plain Wood Productions and Stella Ong. Matthew Black and Shuwen Cao are associate producers.  Carrie Menkel-Meadow and Robert Meadow are executive producers.

Cao is assistant director. Jacob Padilla is production stage manager. Shyree Mezick is casting director. Davidson & Choy Publicity are press representatives.

Just as Henry Ong brought The Killing Fields’ Dr. Haing S. Ngor to unforgettable life in 2013’s Sweet Karma, Qian Xuese receives equally memorable treatment a dozen or so years later in Ascent. Whether or not you had the great good fortune of knowing Henry, his final play is a theatrical event worth celebrating.

Skylight Theatre, 1816 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. Through June 14. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00. Sundays at 3:00.
www.skylighttheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
May 22, 2026
Photos: Randy Wong-Westbrooke

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Tags: Henry Ong, Los Angeles Theater Review, Skylight Theatre