140 LBS: HOW BEAUTY KILLED MY MOTHER

A SPECIAL PRESENTATION OF SUSAN LIEU’S ONE-WOMAN SHOW

Two hours into surgery, Susan’s mother loses oxygen to her brain and the plastic surgeon deliberately does not call 911 for fourteen minutes. Five days later, while in a coma, she flatlines. The surgeon is charged with medical negligence and her family falls apart; no one talks about what happened. Nineteen years later on her wedding day, Susan’s mother’s seat sits empty and Susan realizes she can no longer ignore what she’s always wanted: to know who her mother was. Sifting through thousands of deposition pages and reaching out to the killer’s family, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of Vietnamese feminine beauty.

140 LBS is a solo theater work written and performed by Susan Lieu, a first-generation American born to Vietnamese refugees. The performance weaves together several through-lines: intergenerational trauma; parent-child relationships; body insecurity and shame; repression and healing from personal loss; lack of accountability in the medical system; Vietnamese folkloric practice of spirit channeling. The World Premiere was held in Seattle February 2019 with a sold-out run. Susan self-produced a nearly sold-out 10-city National Tour from October 2019-February 2020 with accolades from NBC News, Los Angeles Times, NPR, The Washington Post, American Theatre, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Seattle Times.

GENERAL INFORMATION

DATE

Friday, March 26: The pre-recorded performance will show at 7:00pm CST, directly followed by a LIVE post-show discussion with Lily Tung Crystal, Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, and Susan Lieu.

Saturday, March 27 - Sunday, March 28: Video-On-Demand is available to watch at any time.

TICKETS

Theater Mu strives to voice the stories of the Asian American community, and in order to bring performances to those communities whose stories we tell, we are committed to make them as accessible as possible. PAY AS YOU ARE pricing asks those who routinely pay $35 for theater tickets to choose to pay that amount; it is the actual fair market value of the ticket. If an audience member needs to pay less, they can choose to do so—as little as $5 per ticket.

VENUE

140 LBS will be broadcast through Theater Mu’s new private and secure streaming platform. A minimum of one ticket per household is required to watch the show.

Click HERE to learn more about our streaming platform and the virtual stage.

SHOW PROGRAM

Click HERE for a PDF of our program with full bios of the playwright, director, and designers.

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT

SUSAN LIEU is a Vietnamese American playwright, producer, and performer who tells stories that refuse to be forgotten. With a vision for individual and community healing—made possible through the interplay of comedy and drama—her work delves deeply into the lived realities of body insecurity, grieving, and trauma.

Her work has been showcased with The Wing Luke Museum, The Moth at Benaroya Hall, On the Boards, RISK!, Bumbershoot, Seattle Children’s Hospital, The Riveter, and The World Economic Forum. She has also given talks at Harvard College, University of Maryland, Mills College, Bellevue College, Highline College, and Portland State University. In addition, Lieu collaborated with The Seattle Public Library and Book-It Theatre to adapt and play the main character of The Best We Could Do, a graphic novel on the Vietnamese refugee experience as part of the city-wide Seattle Reads program.

Susan began performing comedy in 2011, with sets at the Purple Onion and Carolines on Broadway. Susan has a BA from Harvard and an MBA from Yale. She is also the co-founder of Socola Chocolatier, an artisanal chocolate company in San Francisco. She lives in Seattle with her husband and son and hopes to own a Bernese Mountain Dog one day.