THE PLACES WE CARRY

A tender portrait of family, memory,
and the ties that survive distance and time.

Michael DeLorenzo and Alma Cuervo

What Became of Us, Shayan Lotfi‘s intimate new play at Signature Theatre, explores identity, memory, and belonging through the lives of two siblings grappling with the fallout of immigration. Their struggles and successes—told through memories and present-day encounters—span countries, decades, and ever-changing relationships.

Michael DeLorenzo

As did Jennifer Chang in the 2024 Off-Broadway world premiere, director Ethan Heard employs two alternating casts from different diasporic backgrounds. The characters, identified only as “Z” and “Q,” are played by Stan Kang and Jo Yang in the Green Cast and by Michael DeLorenzo and Alma Cuervo in the Purple Cast. The performance I attended featured the latter pair.

Alma Cuervo and Michael DeLorenzo

Lotfi refers to the siblings’ homeland only as “the old country,” giving their story a universal quality. The older sister, born before the family immigrated, feels a stronger connection to her parents and their traditions, while the younger brother, born in America seven years after the family’s arrival, rebels against the old ways. Their choices have consequences not only with their own lives but also their relationship with each other.

Alma Cuervo

Cuervo (“Q”) opens the play alone on stage, exuding warmth and exuberance as she recounts what it was like to immigrate from a country her family fled for political and safety reasons—a place that nonetheless felt familiar and comforting. She does so amid Set Designer Chika Shimizu‘s meticulously detailed living and dining rooms, circa 1970–80s, which reflect the family’s history, cluttered as it is with old photographs (a few of which she hands to viewers), a turntable and records, an old TV, piles of suitcases, and books. Performed in the ARK’s intimate, in-the-round setting, there is a heightened familiarity, drawing us into the story.

Then “Z” enters the picture. “Q” tells, with delight, of his birth and how she treasured having a younger brother. The two joyfully engage in a back-and-forth conversation about their childhood. Their dynamic changes when their parents pass away, and the plot takes a more sinister turn as the characters grow apart.

Michael DeLorenzo and Alma Cuervo

The play spans 80 minutes without an intermission, relying entirely on its two actors to sustain its emotional journey. Cuervo and DeLorenzo kept me fully engaged in the complexities of their lives, which is the crux of the play. What Became of Us refuses to offer easy answers to life’s most difficult questions—for both immigrants and non-immigrants alike. It recognizes that identity is often complicated and evolving, shaped by both personal choices and circumstances beyond one’s control. The characters grapple with questions such as, “Where do we belong?”, “How do we honor where we come from while moving forward?”, and “What remains when relationships, places, and even our understanding of ourselves begin to change?” A reminder of theater’s unique ability to foster empathy and reflection, these are the hard questions the audience is left with. What Became of Us forces us to connect with, care about, and invest in these characters.

Jo Yang and Stan King

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

photos by DJ Corey Photography

What Became of Us
Signature Theatre
The ARK Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave. in Arlington, VA
75 minutes, no intermission
ends on July 26, 2026
for tickets (starting at $47), call 703.820.9771 or visit Signature Theatre

for more shows, visit Theatre in DC

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦