JOE EPSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Pimprenelle Noël and Jonon Gansukh co-star in “The Supreme Leader” at Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken.
A socially awkward high school senior falls for a cute girl but must vie for her affections with a privileged, handsome jock. That’s the setup, and it’s certainly one that we have seen before.
This time, though, the boy is Kim Jong Un.
That is the premise, in a nutshell, of Don X. Nguyen’s hilarious and unexpectedly thoughtful play “The Supreme Leader,” which is currently running at Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken.
Jonon Gansukh plays Kim Jong Un (“Uni” to his classmates) as a chubby, bumbling teen attending an elite Swiss boarding school for the children of diplomats and world leaders. He paints, dreams of becoming an artist, and wonders if his cold and distant father will ever respect him.
Enter Pimprenelle Noël as Sophie Prescott, an irrepressible and outgoing classmate who befriends Uni and begins to draw him out of his shell. There is just one problem: She is dating Roger Fullbright (Nathan Malin), who is not only tall, preppy and handsome but also a truly nice guy — the son of a U.N. aid worker who rescues sick children all over the world.
JOE EPSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Kurt Uy, left, and Jonon Gansukh in “The Supreme Leader.”
Kurt Uy completes the cast as Uni’s “Minder,” a furtive agent of the North Korean government who is there to keep Kim Jong Un’s identify a secret and monitor his development, with the hope that this lovable meatball of a boy will someday be fit to take the reins as North Korea’s Supreme Leader.
There is nothing not to like about this production. It’s laugh-out loud funny, not just because of its clever dialogue and adroit pacing but because of the way it plays with the absurd idea that we could relate to and even feel sorry for a monster like Kim Jong Un. Director Sarah Shin capitalizes on that incongruity brilliantly, keeping the pacing brisk and the characters believable, no matter how far-fetched the premise.
The four-person cast brings each character to life in a way that transcends the stereotypes they represent. This isn’t “Saved by the Bell” transferred to the stage with a twist; it’s living, breathing theater, with all the magic that entails.
When, inevitably, Uni makes a life-changing decision that sets him on the path to his preordained future, it happens organically. Nobody pulls a switch and turns this cherubic adolescent into a monster, not even his Minder, who — even while pulling the strings for the loathsome Kim Jong Il back in North Korea — shows that he truly cares for the boy.
JOE EPSTEIN PHOTOGRAHY
From left, Nathan Malin, Pimprenelle Noël and Jonon Gansukh in “The Supreme Leader.”
Mile Square Theatre always does single-set plays and the production staff typically performs miracles in transforming the stage into a warm and welcoming space, filled with eye-catching details. Production stage manager Kaelin Elizabeth Fuld and her crew have done the opposite here, using plain sliding panels, projections and a few pieces of furniture to create minimalist representations of everything from a dorm room to a Swiss brauhaus and an airport waiting room. It’s so simple that it’s brilliant.
“The Supreme Leader” is Mile Square Theatre’s first production under the leadership of its new artistic director, Chris Cragin-Day. She is off to a great start, with a play that appeals to the young and the old alike. A high school drama class was in the audience at the performance I attended, and they roared with laughter and showered the cast with applause. You will, too.
Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken will present “The Supreme Leader” through Oct. 26; visit milesquaretheatre.org.
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