Still More Theater Saturday - The Magnificent Mrs. Pham

We received complimentary tickets to The Magnificent Mrs. Pham for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What:The Magnificent Mrs. Pham

Where: HERE Arts Center 

             145 Sixth Ave.

             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 16 and Up

When: Through February 28, 2026

The Magnificent Mrs. Pham is purported to be the story of a Vietnamese boat person and her journey to America. However, that part of the story gets short shrift and the story is more split between her life in Vietnam and her life in America with little or nothing about her actual journey. Much of the story is more of domestic drama which is much less interesting than the story we were led to be believe we'd be seeing.

The show is completely told through songs. Although the country western style is a bit disconcerting for the setting, there are some really enjoyable songs including a beautiful song that has something to do with roses. Others, however, are not even fun to listen to within the show or just seem completely out of place.

The show starts out with some beautifully colored shadow puppetry. It is unclear, how this part relates to the rest of the show. The majority of the show takes place in a pool of water. This makes more sense for the Vietnam portion than the American portion. The staging is, however, the most interesting thing about the show and what makes it worth seeing.

And that's our view. Although the remainder of the run of The Magnificent Mrs. Pham is allegedly sold out, you can learn more or check on the availability of additional tickets at here.org/shows/puppetopia-ms-pham.

Tune in tomorrow for this week's Sunday Scoop.

Photo credits:

All The Magnificent Mrs. Pham production photos by Richard Termine.

Images used in this post were sent by publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms and are used by permission.  Address any concerns regarding image usage here.