Revue Stage Granville Island to November 14, 2026
All performances sold out. Info: www.pacifictheatre.org
Posted November 13, 2026
Sometimes when I’m out for lunch with a friend and I’ve made what seems like endless decisions regarding what to eat or drink or whether or not to have dessert, the server will ask, “And what kind of dressing would you like on that salad?” I’m so done; I can’t make one more decision so I look up and say, “Surprise me.” To their credit, no server has ever said, “Are you crazy?” And I have never been disappointed.
Son of a Preacherman just surprised me. And I was not disappointed. I had no idea what it was going to be like. I think I had entertained thoughts about the Deep South Bible Belt and Christian fundamentalism – both reasons why I didn’t see the show when Pacific Theatre premiered it in April 2025. But it was a huge hit, has nothing to do with Christian fundamentalism and I kicked myself for not seeing it then.
I’m so fortunate to have just had a chance to see it before it sold out here at Pacific Theatre’s new digs at the Revue Stage Granville Island (after 30 years in the theatre space in the basement of the historic Chalmers Building at 12th and Heather). Opening night was a huge cause for celebration: Pacific Theatre’s inaugural show in their new location and the return of celebrated playwright/performer Ins Choi, creator of internationally acclaimed Kim’s Convenience, the stage play, and now a hugely popular TV series.
The show is autobiographical and Choi is a charmer. He’s self-deprecatingly funny, he sings and composed the music (performed by Ben Elliot, Rachel Angco and Haneul Yi) and he wrote the lyrics for the many songs – beginning with “If Jesus Came to Visit Us Today” (much funnier and more prophetic than the title suggests). While I am sure it’s not intentional, he is very like David Suzuki in his presentation: smart, candid, witty and with a message that is different from Suzuki’s but no less passionate: we all have stories to tell so, “Get started.”
It took Choi a while to get started. Born in Korea but raised in Canada, he’s the son of a preacher. Grandson of a preacher. Great grandson of a preacher. No pressure? Hah! His mother told him, “Your destiny is to be preacher” so, good only-son that he is, he gave the church a try but it didn’t stick. He told his parents he wanted to write and to act, in front of an audience. “That’s a preacher”, they told him.
But off to theatre school he went. There were no role models twenty-five years ago except Suzuki and Bruce Lee. The opportunities were slim. And so he wrote Kim’s Convenience which was turned down by seven theatre companies before it went on to the Toronto Fringe Festival. Smash hit. Prize winner. Choi was launched.
Apart from all the charm, warmth and candour, Choi (under the direction of Pacific Theatre’s artistic director Kaitlin Willliams) gives the audience the best lesson in recent Korean history it will ever get. He divides the audience up into North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia with suggestions of the USA thrown in. Years of wrangling, years of war. I saw the play on Remembrance Day and was sharply reminded that, apart from the brief war of 1812, Canada has never lived through what so many countries have experienced throughout their entire history: perpetual strife.
After years of struggling to find his way, Choi did take the Toronto Fringe Festival by storm and his parents told him, “We are very proud of you” – probably what most of us want to hear from our mothers and fathers. He not only got started, he’s on a roll and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. What is certain is that he has now become a role model not only for Korean actors and playwrights but for a generation of visible minority individuals with stories to tell.
Surprise us!