A day in the life of Korean convenience store owner Appa begins at the crack of dawn with the tedious task of pricing the newest energy drink and opening the cash register drawer. But this day would bring Appa full circle to the reality that, as he says, “My whole life is my store,” and his children don’t share his tenacious connection to his origin story!
His fearlessly independent daughter, Janet, plays the modern influencer with a contemporary edge, but resents the part-time schedule she is committed to, which requires 4 hours a day, 7 days a week, and distracts from her growing photography side hustle. The faithful wife, Umma, dutifully serves meals and traditional tea to her husband, who rules over his convenience store kingdom behind the counter and obsesses about illegally parked Japanese cars in his parking lot and demands that Janet call the police to resolve the issue because the police respond more quickly to calls spoken in English without an immigrant accent.
But a convenience store is nothing without loyal customers, whose multiple roles include a real estate agent with the same last name, a shoplifter Appa profiled and busted, and a local cop and old friend of Janet’s, who sparks a hilarious matchmaking vignette that showcases the joy Appa shares with his customers.
Faced with the reality that his rapidly gentrifying Regent Park neighborhood in Toronto is about to reach the tipping point where the critical mass of ritzy condos will attract the dreaded Walmart, which could be the death of any local small business, Appa receives a lucrative offer from Mr. Lee to sell his business and retire.
The last major character to enter the drama and connect the intergenerational conflict is Appa’s first-born son, Jung, who admits he has not lived up to his “potential.” A physical confrontation with his father as a rebellious teenager has estranged him from his rightful role as the next generation owner and manager of Kim’s Convenience.
But it is Appa’s hilarious physical presence and infectious humor that are the glue that holds this family together and allows the embattled store owner to develop a finely tuned racial profiling system for potential shoplifters — gay customers never steal, but Blacks with hoodies do. And it is the Taekwondo martial arts moves he uses on the cop and love interest for his daughter that create the comedic highlights of the show and had the audience in stitches.
Appa also shows a compassionate side when presented with the opportunity to reconnect with Jung. He uses a detailed history lesson about Korean domination by Japan since 1910 as a touchstone to bring his shared sense of immigrant pride full circle and heal their father-son wounds as Appa finds out that he is now a grandfather.
In an ensemble with no weak links, the Kim’s Convenience intergenerational cast is led by veteran DMV actors Stan Kang as Appa and Tuyết Thị Phạm as Umma. Justine “Icy” Moral plays their daughter Janet, and Zion Jang is their slacker son Jung. Jonathan Del Palmer nearly steals the show as the universal Black Guy character who appears in multiple roles written to be performed by one actor, including a real estate agent, a police officer, and two convenience store customers.
Ins Choi’s award-winning comedy with an original Canadian flavor inspired the hit Netflix series of the same name that aired for five seasons until 2021, after a modest start in 2011 at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Most performances are sold out.
Kudos to Director Aria Velz and the creative team, including Deb Sivigny (set designer), for creating an authentic convenience store vibe with Lotto tickets covering the tobacco products, tourist items like baseball caps and T-shirts, along with a variety of overpriced household items and a cold beverage case in the rear. If you didn’t know any better, you might think you’re at a 7/11 in the heart of DC’s gentrifying Shaw neighborhood.
Adding to the total authenticity of the store’s signage and gritty ambiance are Costume Designer Julie Cray Leong’s use of cold-weather wear and the contributions of Minjoo Kim (lighting designer), Kevin Alexander (sound designer), and Amy Mihyang Ginther (dialect coach). Kate Kilbane is the production stage manager, and Audrey Klosterman is the assistant stage manager. Youri Kim also serves as assistant director.
Kim’s Convenience is the Olney Theatre Center’s final production of the 2024/25 season in its intimate Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab. Visit olneytheatre.org for show times and a schedule of dynamic post-show panels and opportunities to access the Kim’s Convenience set during the show’s run.
Running Time: 80 minutes, no intermission.
Kim’s Convenience plays through July 27, 2025, in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD. Tickets ($60–$105) can be purchased online or by calling the box office at 301-924-3400. Discounts for students, seniors, military, veterans, first responders, and educators are available here.
The cast and creative credits are here (scroll down).
Kim’s Convenience
By Ins Choi
Directed by Aria Velz
