Benevolence ★★★

Chinese-Canadian Kevin Matthew Wong is Hakka, a subgroup of Han Chinese known for their centuries-long history of migration from northern to southern China, then far beyond. So unrooted are they that “Hakka” literally translates to “guest families” in Chinese, and as guests wherever they go, they tend to create close-knit communities wherever they settle.

Appropriately, Wong does his best to make his audience feel like welcome guests in his charming show Benevolence at Lincoln Center, offering gifts to audience volunteers who help start the proceedings with a clanging parade of pots and pans, followed by an invitation for all to give a quick pat on the head to his puppet Grapejuice, who’s come “all the way from a factory in China.”

Given the stronger material to come, this slightly over-the-top intro feels a tad too overeager to please, and only when Wong connects his personal journey to the various histories of the Hakka people does the show really kick into gear. When Canada is asked to host the World Hakka Conference, Wong is commissioned to write a play for a local senior citizens group, and the request forces him to learn more about his culture and his place in it. The ensuing exploration leads to the highlight of the show, a moving interview with his centenarian grandmother where he realizes that history is lost if not recorded.

Though its runtime is only 85 minutes, Benevolence still has filler material that could be trimmed to make the production stronger as a whole. That said, the show’s positives certainly outweigh its drawbacks, and Wong, a strong singer and dancer, makes impressive use of videos to enhance his warm storytelling.