San Francisco Playhouse rang in 2024 with the World Premiere of Minna Lee’s My Home on the Moon.
Now through February 24, this imaginative new play is helmed by Mei Ann Teo at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street.
In this epic sci-fi journey into the metaverse, business is booming for a formerly failing pho restaurant in the middle of a gentrified neighborhood after it receives help from a mysterious marketing consultant. Things are not all they seem as the restaurant’s chef Mai discovers artificial intelligence-powered simulations may be taking over reality. Armed with bánh xèo, gỏi cuốn, and delicious pho, Mai must balance the perfection of artificial life with the harshness of reality.
The San Francisco Chronicle review noted that the play “makes you ponder” an essential question about AI:
“In a simulation where all your existential crises are gone and everything’s hunky-dory, why even bother doing anything? Without obstacles, without other souls to interact with, what’s the point of cooking food you love or developing a romantic relationship?”
A finalist for the 2024 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and semi-finalist for Ashland New Plays Festival, My Home on the Moon received developmental readings at UC Santa Cruz’s Rainbow Theater Festival and Bucharest Inside the Beltway.
For tickets ($15-$100) and more information, the public may visit sfplayhouse.org or call the box office at 415-677-9596.