Tuyet Thi Pham, left, plays the mother of Ashley D. Nguyen, Mary, a first-generation Cambodian American in 'Dawn,' which Pham wrote. Everyman Theatre’s world premiere production of the play runs through March 1. Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography

• Share

PRINT

The more a daughter knows the details of her mother’s life, the stronger the daughter. —Anita Diamant

In some families, if a mother keeps her past secret, her daughter may grow up feeling distressed and lost.

That scenario is played out in dramatic fashion in award-winning playwright Tuyet Thi Pham’s work, Dawn, now at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre.

Pham is center stage, and not just as the playwright. An Everyman resident company member, she portrays Mother, a deeply wounded soul who attempts to hold herself and what is left of her family together through her Buddhist faith.

The first scene opens on Mother as a young woman (Ashley D. Nguyen) in Cambodia under Communist dictator Pol Pot and the infamous Khmer Rouge. As bombs explode outside hospital windows, Mother grasps her dead infant as Doctor (Taylor Witt) implores her to give up the child. The struggle that ensues serves as a metaphor for what will be Mother’s lifelong battle to come to grips with her loss.

This conflict leaves lasting scars on Mother’s second daughter, Mary (Nguyen). She rejects her mother’s belief, which is grounded in Buddhism and Asian culture, that spirits of deceased relatives remain among the living and interact with them. Mary, in turn, resents being forced to play second fiddle to a dead sister she never knew.

Trying to restore calm between the two is Sam (Witt), Mary’s boyfriend, who, despite his ever-present smile and positive attitude, is buffeted about by the storm raging between mother and daughter.

We learn that there is more than a lost child haunting Mother. Director Seonjae Kim transports us back to Mother’s past: 1970s Cambodia and a “re-education camp” where she had to submit to the advances of the Commune Director (Tony K. Nam).

Amid this dynamic is another ghost: Father, who has recently died. As tradition requires, this brings Mary and Mother together for 100 days of mourning. The resulting proximity leads to a clash between the two: Mary’s “irresistible force” — a demand for love and attention — versus Mother’s “immovable object” — lifelong pain and guilt.

Will Mary and Mother find healing and connection? What is the meaning of the scrap of paper that Mother keeps with her and treasures? Can they find a way to honor the memories of their dead loved ones, or will these ghosts stand between Mother and her surviving daughter? Will peace come with the dawn?

Playwright Pham deserves tremendous credit for creating a nuanced, multi-layered work of powerful emotional peaks and valleys in a tight 90-minute production.

Despite the disturbing themes, she peppers her play with bits of comic relief. Father, we learn, embraced Catholicism which, as Mother quips, was “just something else the French left behind,” referencing the French occupation of her native land.

Director Kim and the creative team of Paige Hathaway (scenic design), Juan Juarez (lighting), David Burdick (costumes), Adam Mendelson (sound) and Chris Carcione (projection) do a masterful job in weaving together two worlds, one in a war-torn past, one in the complicated present.

Dawn continues its run at the Everyman at 315 W. Fayette Street in downtown Baltimore through March 1, 2026. For tickets, visit everymantheatre.org or call the box office at (410) 752-2208.